Mary-Sophie Harvey & Emily Large Lead The Wave Of Juniors Going Big In Toronto

Ontario Junior International, Toronto

Back when Emily Large‘s mum was bringing her daughter into the world, a 2:07 flat over 200m butterfly would have won bronze at the world titles. That same season, when Mary-Sophie Harvey‘s family were delighting in their one-year-old’s smile, a 4:02.23 over 400m free would have taken silver at world titles.

Lines like these or not far away among the young folk warming up the water at the Ontario Junior International in Toronto were not uncommon on the second day of the meet.

How time flies. Here comes the Millenium generation of 2000-plus borns. Canadians and Brits are helping that new wave get used to the fast flow on their smart track to senior careers they will enter before trials for the Tokyo2020 Olympic Games come round.

Harvey, 17 and racing for Neptune Natation, is killing it this week, her previous best left behind her like spray in a storm. After a stunner of a 4:26 in the 400IM yesterday, she cracked out a 4:02.23 win in the 400m freestyle, negative splittling her way to win as she went. Another Canadian record, this time at the expense of the 4:02.76 set by Savannah King in 2011.

Through the 100m at 1:00.01, Harvey was at the 200m on 2:02.58, training a 2:00.52 turn by Island’s 17-year-old Mackenzie Padington and a 2:01.82 from British visitor Freya Anderson. Harvey then swam a minute flat for her third 100, Anderson pacing 2sec down on that, Padington 3sec. In the lead and motoring going into the last 100m, Harvey slapped down a 59.52 bill for her rivals to pay.

Anderson, 15, clocked a fine 4:05.69, with Padington on 4:07.07, her Island teammate Molly Gowans on 4:08.73 to all but match her heats effort.

Sarah Darcel [Twitter]

Harvey wasn’t done and almost caused another upset when she rattled home in 2:24.65 over 200m breaststroke. At 1:11.86 half-way, Harvey trailed all but one other in the race, the lead pace set by Sarah Darcel, of Island, in 1:09.64.

Two laps later, Harvey had swept through to third but was still 2.1sec shy of the Darcel’s pace. It was then, as the rest shows signs of the fight that Harvey put in a 36.18 last 50. That left her a touch shy of Darcel, who had done enough for the win in 2:24.23.

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