Maggie Mac Neil won't compete individually at swimming worlds, putting mental health first
Tokyo 2020 gold medallist and reigning world champion wins 100m butterfly at Canadian trials but announces she will only enter relay events at the world championships, needing "a chill summer".
Olympic and world champion Maggie Mac Neil won the 100-metre butterfly in 57.13 seconds on the second day of the Canadian swimming trials on Wednesday (6 April).
But afterwards, Canada's female swimmer of the year said she would not be competing in any individual events at this summer's world championships in Budapest, citing her mental health.
"I always thought I was invincible. I was completely normal and fine in high school and most of college. But I think this year was a little more difficult for me," Mac Neil told CBC Sports.
"It's hard to stay at the top and that pressure really got to me. I need a chill summer. I don't want to be out of international competition. I want to train and compete well for Canada but I needed that little bit of a let up I guess".
Mac Neil will still go to the 18 June-3 July worlds but only for the relays. At Tokyo 2020, she won silver and bronze in the 4x100m freestyle and 4x100m individual medley, respectively.
The 22-year-old - who also revealed that she has a small fracture in her elbow stemming from a fall on the pool deck last month - said she entered Wednesday's race just to book her spot on the team and is sitting out the rest of the trials.
"I definitely feel relieved by this move. I'm so grateful for (high performance director John Atkinson) and the doctors and Team Canada as a whole for supporting me as I made those decisions and supporting me for selection criteria at this meet," Mac Neil said.
"I definitely wanted to get on these teams for this summer so that's why I swam the 100m fly today but this will be the end of my meet."
Two Canadian records fell on the day. Kylie Masse won the 50m backstroke in 27.18 while Josh Liendo broke his own mark in the 100m fly with a 50.88.
Abby Dunford also qualified in the women's 1,500m free in 16.20.26. Eric Brown topped the men's 800m free with a 7:59.68 and Loic Courville Fortin touched first in the 50m with a 25.98.