(Toronto) Mary-Sophie Harvey succeeded in qualifying for the Paris Olympic Games in her first event in the 100m butterfly, Monday evening, at the Canadian Swimming Trials in Toronto.
Conversely, her ex-teammate Katerine Savard bit the dust, finishing fifth at her preferred distance, a blow to the heart for the 30-year-old swimmer who had experienced a similar disappointment in different circumstances in 2016.
Unsurprisingly, the final was dominated by Maggie Mac Neil. The reigning Olympic champion won in 56.61 sec, a time a bit slower than in the morning heats, where she seemed so in control. The Ontarian took a moment to console her friend Katerine Savard, who was walking in the neighboring corridor.
On the other hand, Harvey was jubilant after achieving what she had promised herself after settling for a stint in preliminaries at the Tokyo Games: qualifying in at least one individual event for Paris.
“It means everything! », Reacted the athlete from Trois-Rivières, while his father, former Rouge et Or swimmer from Laval University André Harvey, observed him with admiration. Her mother, Stéphanie Matte, also a former good swimmer, was also in the stands of the Pan American Sports Center, like her mother-in-law, her grandparents and her two aunts.
“I’ve had a lot of ups and downs over the last three years,” recalled the 24-year-old. But I still had this goal. […] I knew it would be difficult. All the effort I have put in is starting to pay off. I’m just really having fun right now. »
The emotions took over as she talked about all the support she received, including that from her coach Greg Arkhurst at the CAMO club. He convinced her to try her luck in the 100m butterfly, the event where she achieved a first national record at the age of 12.
It is no coincidence that the Montrealer has a butterfly tattooed on her left forearm. Second at the start of the day, she set off for the final without any pressure in a specialty for which she had not specifically prepared. “I do zero fly ! I made a 50 fly this week… Every time I ask Greg, he tells me no! »
Fourth at the turn in the final, Harvey managed a powerful second length to move up to second place, 64 hundredths behind Mac Neil. His time: 57.31 s, almost three-quarters of a second better than his personal best set in the same pool a month earlier!
It was when she saw Mac Neil out of the corner of her eye that she said to herself: “It can’t be that bad!” »
“Honestly, I thought I would do like 57 high, that it would be a little tight for qualifying time [57,92, NDLR]. I said to myself: maybe 58, I would be really happy. 57.3? I can’t ask for better. »
Harvey continued to jump, laugh and gesticulate as he eagerly anticipated the four other races that await him this week, starting with the 200m freestyle on Tuesday.
The ups, the downs
She nevertheless felt “a little pinch” for Savard, her training partner of the last five years. In February, the 30-year-old swimmer left the CAMO club to find some psychological serenity with her coach at the Quebec region Club, Marc-André Pelletier.
He had felt her “a little tense” in the heats, where she performed a pull more than normal on the second length to touch the wall with the third time, tied with Rebecca Smith, a long rival date.
Even if she has gotten back on her feet since her return home, the native of Pont-Rouge has clearly lacked time to get closer to her former level. In the final, she finished third, two tenths behind Mac Neil, but the second portion was fatal to her. His time of 58.93 seconds was three tenths slower than that of the morning.
PHOTO BERNARD BRAULT, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
Katerine Savard
When he left the pool, Savard gave himself time to digest his disappointment. She returned to the journalists perhaps an hour later, her emotions still on edge.
The questions were almost superfluous. It’s impossible not to think of 2016, when the fifth in the world at the time received her surprise third place in the Olympic selections like a stab.
“In 2016, I put all my eggs in one basket,” she recalled from the outset. “I experienced it as a shock. I discovered myself differently as an athlete this year. I couldn’t help but think it was a possibility [de ne pas me qualifier]. With what I’ve seen in the last few months, I didn’t necessarily know where I stood. I had kind of prepared myself for this to happen. »
It wasn’t any easier though. His red eyes above a resigned smile were there to bear witness to this.
The emotions are still there. I can proudly say that I have carried swimming in Quebec for 15 years… It’s not over yet, I have two races left. It’s definitely a disappointment. If I’m still here after 15 years, it’s because it’s close to my heart!
Katerine Savard
Savard reiterated that she did not regret her choices, including leaving CAMO after 11 years and an Olympic bronze medal under these colors in 2016. She still holds the Quebec record in the 100m butterfly, which escaped Harvey by six hundredths.
“I had a pretty difficult last year mentally, but I think I made all the decisions for myself, to get out of there,” Savard said. In the end, that’s what matters. I arrived here in a much healthier state of mind. It’s important because it’s what will follow me in the future. It’s my head, it’s not my body. »
All is not lost for Savard, who will line up in the 200m freestyle on Tuesday and the 100m freestyle on Friday, with the possibility of qualifying for the relays. In 2016, she finished second behind a young Penny Oleksiak two days after her disappointment in the butterfly.
“I really sympathize with her,” commented Mac Neil, who gave her a long hug in the pool. The same thing happened to her in 2016 and she rallied to place in another event. I really think there’s more to her. »
Katerine Savard has one night to convince herself after swimming what was potentially her last 100m butterfly of her career.
It’s very possible. I don’t want to make any progress on this, but I’ve known for some time that retirement was coming. I really hoped to represent the country for a fourth Games in the 100 meter butterfly. This is a scenario that may be different. I have to let the emotions pass, but I should put them aside in a few hours because the other two chances, I must not miss them.
Katerine Savard
As if to further test her resilience, Savard was chosen for an unexpected urine and blood doping test. She had to wait two hours after her last intense effort to submit to it so that the result would be valid. More than two and a half hours after the end of her race, she was still hanging around in a room trying to comply with this requirement… If she succeeds in passing the relay, she will not have stolen it.