John Atkinson compares CanadaB次元官网网址檚 Olympic swim team in Paris to a complex jigsaw puzzle requiring a deft hand to complete.

Swimming CanadaB次元官网网址檚 high-performance director of a dozen years is managing his deepest Olympic team yet, with 17-year-old Summer McIntosh its centrepiece.

While the women have carried the swim team to the podium at the last two Olympic Games, the menB次元官网网址檚 side is showing medal potential in Paris.

B次元官网网址淭he menB次元官网网址檚 program is in a very different place than it was leading into Tokyo,B次元官网网址� Atkinson said.

Canadian women won six swimming medals in Rio in 2016 and another half-dozen in Tokyo in 2021.

B次元官网网址淭he last two games, we had six medals. WeB次元官网网址檙e looking towards six and beyond,B次元官网网址� Atkinson said.

CanadaB次元官网网址檚 28-member team at the pool contains multiple medal threats swimming in more than one race.

Strategically managing talent to extract maximum medals from seven relays creates many moving parts for Atkinson and CanadaB次元官网网址檚 seven coaches led by head coach Ryan Mallette.

B次元官网网址淪ometimes you have to be comfortable with things looking chaotic because you know there is a plan behind it all,B次元官网网址� Atkinson said.

B次元官网网址淲e are going to have some athletes that race on Day 1 and are still racing on Day 9 and all the way in between, where before you might have an athlete waiting until Day 8.

B次元官网网址淲hen you have the team we have now, and qualified seven relays for the first time ever, everybody is going to be on their own very dynamic plan not only for racing, but recovery between races to sustain the nine days of that performance.B次元官网网址�

Swimming starts Saturday at the Aquatics Centre, which is one of just two permanent sport venues built for Paris 2024 alongside Le Bourget Climbing Wall.

TorontoB次元官网网址檚 McIntosh steps onto the blocks in the womenB次元官网网址檚 400-metre freestyle a podium contender in that event and more.

Reigning 100-metre Olympic butterfly champion Maggie Mac Neil races the heats and semifinals of that event Saturday, when she could also join seven-time Olympic medallist Penny Oleksiak in the womenB次元官网网址檚 4 x 100 freestyle relay final.

Veteran backstroker Kylie Masse, who was a double silver medallist in Tokyo, eyes a return to the Olympic podium.

B次元官网网址淚 would love to go faster than IB次元官网网址檝e ever been,B次元官网网址� said the 28-year-old from LaSalle, Ont.

Backstroker Ingrid Wilm, butterfly specialists Josh Liendo and Ilya Kharun and individual medley swimmers Finlay Knox and Sydney Pickrem have all reached podiums at the two world championships held over the last 12 months.

B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檝e seen the success of the women. We want to get to that point,B次元官网网址� Liendo said. B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檙e not afraid to aim high. We want to be able to win medals, be in finals and be a challenge in races.B次元官网网址�

Deploying those swimmers, and incorporating key cogs Rebecca Smith, Taylor Ruck and Mary-Sophie Harvey into relay heats and finals is part of the chess game Canadian coaches will play in Paris.

Canada will race for the first time in the mixed medley relay that made its Olympic debut in Tokyo.

An example of CanadaB次元官网网址檚 juggling act is the menB次元官网网址檚 and womenB次元官网网址檚 medley relay heats fall on the same Day 8 as the mixed relay, menB次元官网网址檚 100-metre butterfly and womenB次元官网网址檚 200-metre medley finals.

B次元官网网址淣ot just with Summer, but particularly with Summer and others who have this multiple-event conundrum, we have a plan as to where they might not be needed in prelims for relays, then theyB次元官网网址檒l come in for finals,B次元官网网址� Atkinson explained.

B次元官网网址淭hereB次元官网网址檚 plans for when they get their massage therapy, thereB次元官网网址檚 plans on meal and nutritional intake, that they get that immediately. ThereB次元官网网址檚 plans to manage all activities outside of the pool.

B次元官网网址淣ine days of racing B次元官网网址� itB次元官网网址檚 not always the fastest swimmer that wins at the Olympic Games. ItB次元官网网址檚 the one who recovers the most day to day.B次元官网网址�

The New York Times and German broadcaster ARD reported in April that 23 Chinese swimmers tested positive for a performance-enhancing drug in the months leading up to TokyoB次元官网网址檚 Olympic Games in 2021, when some were allowed to compete.

Chinese authorities said the drug entered the swimmersB次元官网网址� systems through contamination. The World Anti-Doping Agency accepting that explanation caused a war of words between WADA and U.S. anti-doping chief Travis Tygart and threats of litigation from WADA.

McIntosh, in the 400 freestyle, and CanadaB次元官网网址檚 womenB次元官网网址檚 4 x 200 freestyle relay finished fourth in races in which Chinese swimmers won medals in Tokyo.

The Associated Press reports ChinaB次元官网网址檚 swimming team in Paris retains 11 athletes who tested positive for a banned heart medication ahead of Tokyo.

B次元官网网址淭here is somewhat less trust in the system when these stories come out. We donB次元官网网址檛 know the full intricacies of whatB次元官网网址檚 transpired, but every time that comes out, trust gets dented and it does take time to come back from that,B次元官网网址� Atkinson said.

B次元官网网址淢y message to everybody has always been, control the things you can control. You can control what you do, you can control how you swim, you can control how you perform. What you canB次元官网网址檛 control is what someone else decides to do. You have to almost put that in a box to the side, focus on what you need to go and swim to your absolute best and be better at Paris than you were at our trials.B次元官网网址�

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