Hafnaoui In Question For Paris, Canadian Olympic Trials Kick Off In Toronto & Legendary Coach Jon Urbanchek Dies

swin @) swan McIntosh, MacNeil Punch Paris Tickets: The Canadian Olympic Trials got underway on Monday, and two of the country's biggest stars solidified their spot on the Olympic team with victories. Also: Ahmed Hafnaoui's status for Paris is up in the air, World Aquatics launches investigation into Russian swimmers breaking rules at a competition in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and legendary coach Jon Urbanchek dies at the age of 87. MCINTOSH OPENS CANADIAN TRIALS WITH WORLD-LEADING 400 FREE Four-time world champion Summer McIntosh and defending Olympic champion Maggie MacNeil highlighted the opening night of the Canadian Olympic Trials on Monday, cruising to wins and solidifying their spot at the 2024 Games in Paris. McIntosh won the women's 400 free in a time of 3:59.06, overtaking defending Olympic champion Ariarne Titmus (3:59.13) for the top spot in the world rankings. Despite McIntosh qualifying for her second Olympic team, the 17-year-old said post-race she was "not happy" with the performance. MacNeil, 24, topped the women's 100 fly in 56.61 after logging a time of 56.54 in the prelims, moving her into #7 in the world rankings. Mary-Sophie Harvey was the runner-up to MacNeil in 57.32, qualifying her for Paris, while men's 100 breast winner Finlay Knox put himself in a position to be nominated to the team for the medley relay. McIntosh, Harvey and Penny Oleksiak were in the water on Tuesday morning in the heats of the women's 200 free, with the men's 400 IM, 100 back, and women's 100 breast also on the schedule. See the Day 2 Prelims Live Recap here. PARIS IN QUESTION FOR AHMED HAFNAOUI AS TUNISIAN FEDERATION IN FLUX After initial reports indicated defending Olympic champion Ahmed Hafnaoui would miss the 2024 Olympic Games, the Tunisian swimmer spoke and didn't rule out his attendance in Paris, but did say it's up in the air just over two months out. Hafnaoui told Tunisian news network AFP that he's dealing with an injury that's put his Olympic campaign in question. “I’m currently suffering from an injury, and I don’t know whether or not I will participate in the Olympics,” Hafnaoui said. The 21-year-old is the reigning world champion in the men's 800 and 1500 freestyle in addition to being the defending Olympic gold medalist in the 400 free. Even before news of the injury, his status for the Games was largely unknown after he began the 2023-24 season at Indiana University, left to train in California, and then returned to Tunisia while applying for a new VISA to train in the U.S. In February, he was well off form at the 2024 World Championships. News that Hafnaoui's Olympic participation was in question came just prior to the Tunisian Swimming Federation (FTN) getting into a political battle with the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). WADA announced sanctions for Tunisia’s Agence nationale antidopage (ANAD) in April, which led to the Tunisian flag being covered with a red cloth at the country's National Open Masters Championships. Tunisian President Kais Saied dissolved the Tunisian Swimming Federation after the flag was covered, and on Monday, he reportedly went a step further and arrested the leaders of the FTN and ANAD for hiding the flag — which was done solely to comply with WADA. Read more here. WORLD AQUATICS OPENS INVESTIGATION INTO RUSSIAN SWIMMERS IN BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA Russian swimmers violated numerous restrictions while competing at a meet in Bosnia and Herzegovina in April, a source told SwimSwam last week, and images from the competition seemed to confirm the report. Russians were in attendance at the "Swim Wars" meet in the city of Banja Luka on April 27-28, and despite the Bosnia and Herzegovina Federation being informed of the restrictions in place on Russian participation internationally, the rules appeared to be broken. Images showed Russian swimmers wearing national uniforms at medal ceremonies and press conferences, both violations of the World Aquatics restrictions which require Russian and Belarusian swimmers to compete as individual, neutral athletes. After receiving word of the violations, World Aquatics sent a statement to SwimSwam on Friday saying that it has opened an investigation into the matter. “The World Aquatics Integrity Unit has seen the images from the event in Bosnia and Herzegovina," the statement reads. "There appears to have been a clear breach of the rules and an investigation has immediately been opened. Strong action will be taken against any responsible parties who are found to have broken the rules.” Read the initial report here. LEGENDARY COACH JON URBANCHEK DIES AT 87 Jon Urbanchek, the longtime head coach at the University of Michigan and a staple on U.S. Olympic staffs, died on Thursday at the age of 87. Urbanchek had been admitted to hospice care earlier this year. Urbanchek leaves behind a storied legacy in swimming, highlighted by his 22-year run at Michigan, where he led the Wolverine men's team to a stunning 10-year run of Big Ten titles—the "Decade of Dominance"—from 1986 to 1996. The team won a total of 13 conference championships during Urbanchek's tenure, along with the 1995 NCAA title. Urbanchek served on seven U.S. Olympic staffs, attending every Games with the American team from 1988 to 2012. After he retired from collegiate coaching, he stayed in Ann Arbor and coached multiple swimmers to Olympic gold medals at Club Wolverine from 2004 to 2009. Urbanchek was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame in 2008 and the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame in 2009. After his time in Michigan, Urbanchek moved to Los Angeles, where he began his coaching career at Anaheim High School from 1964 to 1978, and coached at USC alongside Dave Salo. In 2019, the Anaheim School’s new pool was named after him, the “Jon Urbanchek Anaheim High School Aquatics Center.” Urbanchek coached at USC through 2020 before announcing his retirement. After news of his passing was confirmed on Friday, social media has been flooded with tributes to Urbanchek, who was described by many as influential in their competitive career while being a constant smiling presence on pool deck for decades. See some of the tributes to Urbanchek here. QUICK HITS * World Aquatics says that swimmers who only earn 'B' cuts or "consideration" standards may not be invited to the Paris Olympics due to the athlete quota. * Olympic champion Kristof Milak has reportedly missed the vast majority of his workouts since the Hungarian Championships in April, though he is scheduled to be in attendance at the European Championships next month. * The Santa Margarita girls and boys rolled to CIF State Championship victories on Saturday, while Liberty Christian freshman Bianca Nwaizu had an incredible swim in the girls' 100 breast (1:00.23), narrowly missing the 13-14 NAG record. * George Washington head coach Brian Thomas has resigned, reports indicated last week, as the program battles to keep its on-campus pool. * Eleven-year-old Annie Xu made some noise in the lead-up to the Canadian Trials, becoming the country's fastest 11-year-old ever in the girls' 100 free and 400 IM, breaking Summer McIntosh's record in the latter. * To no one's surprise, Siobhan Haughey broke the Hong Kong National Record in the women's 800 free in what was her first time swimming the race. * Construction on the U.S. Olympic Trials pool at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis got underway on Sunday. * Brazil has announced an 18-member roster for the 2024 Olympic Games following the conclusion of the Brazilian Swimming Championships. * A world-leading 400 IM for New Zealander Lewis Clareburt was among the highlights of last week's Sydney Open, which ran for three days from the Sydney Olympic Park Aquatic Centre in Australia. * Romanian star David Popovici has put his college studies on pause to key in on his preparation for the 2024 Olympic Games. * Learn the story of Alexandra Chrisman, a young swimmer who had her life flipped upside down after mistiming a backstroke wall in 2021. * Bahamian Olympian Joanna Evans claims WADA mistreated and "dehumanized" her during her appeal process for a doping suspension that was ultimately extended to four years in March. LEGENDARY OLYMPIC AND MICHIGAN SWIM COACH JON URBANCHEK DIES AT 87 By Spencer Penland on SwimSwam Jon Urbanchek, one of swimming's most legendary coaches, has died at the age of 87.  Read the full story on SwimSwam: Legendary Olympic and Michigan Swim Coach Jon Urbanchek Dies at 87 Read More → - AHMED HAFNAOUI CURRENTLY SUFFERING FROM UNDISCLOSED INJURY, IS UNSURE OF PARIS PROSPECTS By Yanyan Li on SwimSwam Hafnaoui did not rule out competing in Paris, but he is experiencing an injury that has made his Olympic hopes uncertain headed into the games. Read the full story on SwimSwam: Ahmed Hafnaoui Currently Suffering From Undisclosed Injury, Is Unsure Of Paris Prospects Read More → - SUMMER MCINTOSH AND MAGGIE MACNEIL WIN ON NIGHT 1 OF CANADIAN TRIALS, QUALIFY FOR PARIS 2024 By Sophie Kaufman on SwimSwam Summer McIntosh, Maggie MacNeil, and Mary-Sophie Harvey all qualified individually for thier second Olympic Games on night 1 of 2024 Canadian Trials. Read the full story on SwimSwam: Summer McIntosh and Maggie MacNeil Win On Night 1 Of Canadian Trials, Qualify For Paris 2024 Read More → - WORLD AQUATICS OPENS INVESTIGATION INTO RUSSIAN SWIMMERS AT BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA MEET By James Sutherland on SwimSwam World Aquatics say it will take "strong action" against any responsible parties found to have broken the rules. Read the full story on SwimSwam: World Aquatics Opens Investigation Into Russian Swimmers At Bosnia and Herzegovina Meet Read More → - WORLD AQUATICS SAYS 2024 PARIS OLYMPIC ‘B’ CUT SWIMMERS “MAY NOT” QUALIFY DUE TO ATHLETE QUOTA By Anya Pelshaw on SwimSwam 26 less swimmers will compete in Paris compared to Tokyo. Universality swimmers also have priority over 'B' cut swimmers. Read the full story on SwimSwam: World Aquatics Says 2024 Paris Olympic ‘B’ Cut Swimmers “May Not” Qualify Due To Athlete Quota Read More → - REPORTS: KRISTOF MILAK HAS MISSED 32 OF 38 WORKOUTS SINCE THE HUNGARIAN CHAMPIONSHIPS By Braden Keith on SwimSwam Hungarian media is reporting that Kristof Milak has missed most of his workouts since the mid-April National Championships where good time assuaged concerns over his summer outlook. Read the full story on SwimSwam: Reports: Kristof Milak Has Missed 32 of 38 Workouts Since the Hungarian Championships Read More → - 2024 CIF STATE SWIM CHAMPIONSHIPS: FINALS LIVE RECAP By Riley Overend on SwimSwam Foothill freshman Luka Mijatovic is living up to the hype so far at his first CIF State meet as the top seed in the 200 free (1:36.69) and 500 free (4:20.25). Read the full story on SwimSwam: 2024 CIF State Swim Championships: Finals Live Recap Read More → - Twitter Facebook Instagram Website