Uncertain status of Canadian swim stars creates relay dilemma for coaches ahead of world championships

Four-time Olympic medallist swimmer Taylor Ruck has decided to withdraw from an international event in Santa Clara. Calif.

This comes a day after Swimming Canada officials told CBC Sports they were optimistic Ruck was returning to racing after breaking her hand in April. Ruck had  planned on swimming four events this weekend.

In a statement, Swimming Canada said Ruck made the decision to withdraw from the event in consultation with her coach, Greg Meehan, and high-performance director John Atkinson. 

"I had hoped to return to racing this weekend but need a little more time to focus on my recovery," Ruck said.

Ruck has been mostly kick training since suffering a broken hand while skateboarding in April. She will continue to train and rehab the injury, while finishing her final exams at Stanford University.

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"While Taylor has been making good progress, with any return many things have to be considered," Atkinson said in a statement. "While the plan was to race at Santa Clara, after a review this will not happen. Taylor will continue to work with her coach at Stanford and we will plan to meet next week."

That will be a pivotal meeting about whether Ruck can be ready to race again with the clock ticking down to the world championships in Fukuoka, Japan, starting July 23.

A couple of weeks ago Canada's most decorated Olympian, Penny Oleksiak decided not to attend the world championships to continue her rehab from injury. And now there is a question mark regarding Ruck being able to compete at worlds. 

"It's going to be tough this year," Atkinson said. "It's an opportunity for different athletes to step up and show what they can do and where they're at."

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