VANCOUVER – The 59
th annual Mel Zajac Jr. International Swim Meet begins at the UBC Aquatic Centre on Friday, with the Thunderbirds hosting some of the top swimmers from across North America in their final major competition before the 2024 Paris Olympic Games. In all, nearly 600 athletes will be participating from 92 teams across 15 countries, including at least 16 Olympians. The event runs from June 21-23, with preliminary sessions each morning and finals in the evenings.
14 Canadian Olympians are set to compete at the event, among them ascending Canadian swimming stars Maggie Mac Neil and Josh Liendo.
After earning a gold, silver, and bronze in her Olympic debut at Tokyo 2020, Mac Neil has been a force for Team Canada at international meets ever since. At the 2023 Pan American Games in Santiago, she racked up seven total medals, including five golds. The 24 year-old will be using the Zajac as pre-Olympic preparation before heading to Paris as the defending Olympic Champion in the 100m butterfly.
Former world champion Liendo is coming off of a magnificent performance at Canadian Olympic Qualifying in Toronto last month. After the 21-year old was the only Canadian man to win a medal at the 2023 World Aquatic Championships, a silver in the 100m butterfly, he smashed his own Canadian record for the event at olympic qualifying and recorded the best time of anyone in the world so far in 2024, setting himself up as a medal favourite in Paris.
"We are thrilled to be hosting the 59
th Annual Mel Zajac Jr International Swim Meet," said UBC head coach
Derrick Schoof. "It should prove to be an incredible meet as we welcome so much national and international talent. This is the final weekend that swimmers from around the world can qualify for the Olympics and the last opportunity for Canadian Olympians to tune up before heading to Paris in July. In addition, our Olympians will be signing autographs for spectators after the heats each morning."
The 15 countries represented at this year's event are spread across five continents, showing the growth and international prestige of the Zajac at it approaches its sixtieth year.
Among the international competitors is Kayla Sanchez, who will represent the Philippines at Paris 2024. Sanchez had competed at the Tokyo Games for Canada, and earned two medals there as part of relay teams. However, she recently received approval to switch her sporting citizenship to the Philippines and hopes to bring the country its first ever Olympic medal in women's swimming.
Sanchez is also enrolling at UBC and will be competing for the Thunderbirds in the 2024-25 season. She is not alone as far as highly talented future T-Birds who have a chance to make a splash at the Zajac before formally joining the team.
"This competition has such a rich history of both showcasing excellence at the highest level as well as providing opportunity for young swimmers from across BC, Canada, and the northwest USA," commented Schoof. "Every year we see not only some the best international swimmers, but the future up and coming superstars. The Zajac meet provides the opportunity for our local swimming community of all ages and abilities to come out and watch and cheer on these amazing athletes."
Another Olympian and soon-to-be Thunderbird to watch at the meet is Finlay Knox. The 23 year-old became the first Canadian man in 17 years to win gold at the World Championships, doing so in the 200m individual medley in February. Knox will be representing Canada in that event in Paris after breaking the national record at qualifying. He will also be a part of the 4x100m medley relay team.
While wearing the blue and gold will be a new experience for Knox, he will be comfortable at the Zajac and at the school's home facilities as he has been training at the Swimming Canada High Performance Centre at UBC, alongside two current Thunderbirds who are both also Paris-bound:
Blake Tierney and
Emma O'Croinin.
After participating in the Zajac, Tierney will be joining Knox on the Canadian 4x100 medley relay team, while competing individually in the men's 100m and 200m backstroke. O'Croinin set a personal best at Olympic qualifying in the 200m freestyle event, likely earning a place on the 4x200m freestyle relay team. Both Tierney and O'Croinin were red-shirts for UBC in the 2023-24 season in order to focus on pre-Olympic training.
There will be plenty of opportunity for fans to watch all of the elite swimmers coming to Point Grey, as the Zajac features two sessions per day throughout the three-day event. Preliminary heats begin at 9 a.m. (PT) each morning, with the first session lasting until the late morning or early afternoon. The swimmers then return to the pool for 5:30 p.m. (PT) evening sessions featuring final heats, which last until at least 8:00 p.m. (PT) each night.
"Swimmers from far and wide love coming to UBC and the UBC Aquatic Centre for events like this," noted Schoof. "With the residences in walking distance and food options all around, it provides the perfect environment to host a meet like this. Our sponsors, in particular, the Mel Jr and Marty Zajac Foundation, allow us to bring in top talent and make this a truly spectacular weekend."
The Mel Jr. and Marty Zajac Foundation has generously sponsored the meet since 1998, allowing the event to attract top international talent year after year. The meet is named after Mel Zajac Jr., who was a swimmer on the Canadian National Team and competed for Canada at the 1976 Olympics in Montreal. The event provides the unique and enduring opportunity to honour Mel Zajac Jr.'s competitive spirit and love of swimming, reflected in his achievements as part of the Canadian National swim team.
Canadian Olympic medalist Penny Oleksiak alongside Mel Zajac Sr. at the 2018 Mel Zajac Jr. International Swim Meet
For over 20 years, the Mel Jr. and Marty Zajac Foundation has raised funds in support of the Zajac Ranch for Children. In the summer months, the Zajac Ranch for Children provides camps for children and young adults with chronic illnesses and disabilities. These experiences give participants the opportunity to explore the outdoors while developing greater social and environmental awareness, increased self-confidence and positive growth in attitudes towards physical activity.
For more on the daily schedules, tickets and further details about the Mel Zajac Jr. International Swim Meet, click here:
https://www.swimzajac.com/
To learn more about the Mel Jr. and Marty Zajac Foundation, click here:
http://zajac.com/
To learn more about the Zajac Ranch for Children, click here:
https://zajacranch.com/
