Summer McIntosh leads Olympic hopefuls into high-pressured Canadian swim trials

With the stakes higher than ever — berths to the Paris 2024 Games on the line — Swimming Canada has spared no details when it comes to setting the scene for the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic swimming trials.

Swimmers competing at the trials will walk out of an entrance for the finals under a replica of the Eiffel Tower, a not-so-subtle reminder of what's up for grabs for the more than 850 Canadian athletes who are looking to earn a spot on Team Canada in Paris this summer. 

"I'm so excited. Walking in here and seeing the little Paris Eiffel Tower thing on top of the walkout stage is pretty surreal," Summer McIntosh told CBC Sports on Saturday morning. 

"There's a lot of anticipation going into all of this. I've been through this situation many times before. There's so much excitement as well. I'm trying to stay as calm as possible."

This is a very different setting inside the Pan Am Sports in Toronto compared to three years ago when the last trials took place – those trials were in the midst of a pandemic when no fans were allowed to attend and swimmers were wearing masks on the pool deck before their races. 

Starting Monday, and running through until Sunday, fans will pack the venue, cheering on Canadian swimmers as they look to qualify for the Games this summer. A number of the evening final sessions are already sold out. 

Preliminary heats are at 9:27 a.m. ET each day, with finals sessions set for 5:45 p.m. ET. All sessions are being streamed live on CBC Sports digital platforms, with a nightly highlight show on CBC TV. Live streams can be watched via the free CBC Gem streaming service, at cbcsports.ca and the CBC Sports app for iOS and Android devices. 

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