Blazing to a personal best time by nearly a full second, Winskill Dolphins Swim Club alumni Noemie Thomas earned a spot in the 2016 Summer Olympic Games with a runner-up finish in the 100-meter butterfly at the Canadian Trials on Tuesday night at the Pan Am Sports Centre in Toronto.
The 20-yearold sophomore at Cal-Berkeley covered the distance in 57.02 seconds - the fourth fastest time in the world this year - to finish just behind winner Penny Oleksiak (56.99). Both were well under the Olympic qualifying standard (58.74), as was third place finisher Katerine Savard (57.75) who held the previous Canadian record. Only the top two will represent Canada in
Rio. Thomas led from the outset before being out touched by a hard-closing Oleksiak at the wall.
"I can't tell you how many times I have been thinking about this moment," said Thomas who was clocked at 57.60 in the morning heat, her fastest time in three years. "Just having this dream finally come true, it's surreal.
"At the same time, I know I have worked my butt off for the past four years. I can't be more grateful for the support system I have."
The 5-foot-3 dynamo earned a pair of silver medals at the 2015 Pan American games in the 100 fly and as a member of Canada's 4x100 medley relay.
