VANCOUVER – Missy Franklin won her fifth, sixth and seventh gold medals of the meet as the Mel Zajac Canada Cup – Vancouver wrapped up Sunday at the University of British Columbia.
The 19-year-old American star took the women’s 100-metre freestyle and backstroke, unfazed by the quick turnaround for back-to-back events. Representing the University of California, Berkeley Golden Bears, Franklin posted a time of 1:00.97 to win the backstroke event, then dove back in to take the freestyle in 55.71.
National team veteran Audrey Lacroix, also representing PPO, proved she’s still a force to be reckoned with in the women’s 200-m butterfly. The 30-year-old Pont-Rouge, Que., native set a new meet record of 2:09.80 in her signature event.
Two Canadian national team members completed sweeps of their respective strokes. Edmonton’s Richard Funk took the men’s 50-m breaststroke in 28.55, while Calgary’s Russell Wood capped his backstroke hat trick with a 56.68 in the 100-m.
Marie-Soleil Jean-Lachapelle of Montreal’s CAMO club took the women’s 50-m breaststroke in 32.18.
Funk’s Michigan Wolverines teammate Geoff Cheah ended a strong meet with a win in the men’s 100-m freestyle. Stefan Milosevic was the top Canadian – the 18-year-old from Swimming Canada’s High Performance Centre – Vancouver clocked in at 50.80 for second place.