COMMONWEALTH GAMES
Swimmer has five Commonwealth Games medals
GOLD COAST, Australia — Teenager Taylor Ruck won three more medals in the Commonwealth Games pool Saturday to up her total to five while fellow Canadian Kylie Masse proved she still rules the 100-metre backstroke.
Canada picked up another silver on the night, courtesy of Paralympic star Aurelie Rivard in the women’s SM10 200-metre individual medley.
John Hutchinson, Swimming Canada’s high-performance director, had predicted this would be Ruck’s breakout meet. The 17-yearold from Kelowna, who won two relay bronze medals at the Rio Olympics, has not disappointed.
“An astonishing talent,” said Hutchinson. With five medals in five events here (one gold, three silver and a bronze), Ruck is on track to make history. She still has the 200 backstroke, 100 freestyle and likely the individual medley relay to go.
Canadian Elaine Tanner won seven medals (four gold and three silver) at the 1966 Commonwealth Games in Kingston, Jamaica. Australians Susie O’Neill (1998 in Kuala Lumpur) and Emily Seebohm (2010 in New Delhi) both won eight medals.
Nine of Canada’s 18 medals over the first three days of competition have come in the pool. Ruck tied for silver in the 50-metre freestyle before earning bronze in the backstroke behind Kylie Masse, the world record-holder in the event. Ruck capped her evening with a silver behind Australia in the 4x200 relay with Penny Oleksiak, Kayla Sanchez and Rebecca Smith, who won gold as a foursome at the world junior championships last summer.
Ruck’s individual silver and bronze Saturday came less than 30 minutes apart. Both were personal best times.
On Thursday, Ruck won gold in the 200 freestyle and silver in the 4x100 freestyle relay with Oleksiak, Sanchez and Alexia Zevnik.
It’s a welcome sight for Hutchinson, who is developing his young talent for the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo.
Masse won the backstroke in 58.63 seconds, nipping Seebohm by three one-hundredths of a second. Ruck was third in 58.97.
Masse lowered the games record in the heat, semifinal and final — from 58.70 to 58.66 and then 58.63. Seebohm, the two-time defending champion, had lowered her own games record to 58.91 in the morning heat before Masse.
In gymnastics, Canada’s Ellie Black won the women’s individual all-around gold medal on Saturday, adding to the gold she won Friday in the team event.
The 22-year-old from Halifax, runner-up-at the 2017 world championship, finished with 54.200 points at the Coomera Indoor Sports Centre. Australia’s Georgia Godwin was second with 53.800 and England’s Alice Kinsella was third at 53.150.
Black won the team gold with Isabela Onyshko, Jade Chrobok, Shallon Olsen and Brittany Rogers.