Ruck wins fifth gold, Dawson sweeps men’s breaststroke at Canadian swimming trials

MONTREAL — Taylor Ruck won her fifth gold in as many events at the Canadian swimming trials with a victory in the women’s 50-metre butterfly final on Thursday.

The four-time Olympic medallist from Kelowna, B.C., touched the wall in 25.93 seconds. That was good enough to edge Calgary’s Matea Gigovic (26.38) and Leilani Fack (26.88) of Surrey, B.C., who grabbed silver and bronze, respectively.

Ruck, 26, was also victorious in the 50 and 100 freestyle, 100 backstroke and 100 butterfly earlier in the week.

“I feel quite tired, and I am excited to just take the weekend off,” said Ruck. “This has been an awesome week. I just took each day as it came and focused on my races.”

Meanwhile, Oliver Dawson of Grande Prairie, Alta., completed his golden sweep of the men’s breaststroke events with a convincing win in the 100 final, finishing in 59.97 seconds. Apollo Hess of Lethbridge, Alta., was second in one minute 01.40 seconds, while Brayden Taivassalo of Newmarket, Ont., earned bronze in 1:01.58.

The 18-year-old Dawson previously triumped in the 50 on Tuesday and the 200 on Wednesday.

“It feels pretty good,” said Dawson. “The summer is looking pretty exciting. To come here, unrested, and swim very close to my personal best, I’m very happy.“

Other winners on the day were Madison Kryger in the women’s 200 backstroke, Ethan Ekk in the men’s 200 backstroke, Finlay Knox in the men’s 50 butterfly, Alexanne Lepage in the women’s 100 breaststroke and Ella Cosgrove in the women’s 800m freestyle.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 9, 2026.

The Canadian Press