Mary-Sophie Harvey will not be swimming the 100m butterfly at the Paris Olympics. After a few weeks of reflection, the Montreal athlete has decided to pass on the event for which she qualified at the Toronto Trials last month.
“It’s a heartbreaking choice for sure,” agreed Harvey four days after announcing his decision to Swimming Canada on June 10.
“I worked hard to get my place on the team. I would have loved to swim all the swims I placed in and I think I deserved it. At the same time, it was a decision that made sense. »
By leaving aside the 100m butterfly, whose preliminaries and semi-finals are scheduled for the first day of Olympic competition, July 27, Harvey wants to devote all his attention to the 4 X 100m freestyle relay, presented on the same day.
“That would have been four races in the first day. As much as I would love to do the 100m butterfly, we have a good chance of medaling in the 4 x 100m freestyle. »
The sole Quebec representative of the women’s team also wishes to preserve her energies for the 200m freestyle, the heats of which will be contested the next day.
“That gave four races before my individual swim which we are focusing on more than the 100m butterfly, for the moment. Possibly full of emotions if we win a medal, returning to the water the next day for my race, it was going to be a lot. We said to ourselves: we’re going to focus on one. »
The 100m butterfly arrived as a bit of a surprise in the 25-year-old swimmer’s Olympic journey. The announcement of his registration coincided with the departure to Quebec of his training partner, Katerine Savard. The 100m butterfly specialist was aiming for an unprecedented fourth Olympic selection in this event. The 2016 relay medalist ultimately finished fifth.
On the first day of the Trials, Harvey secured her place by placing second behind Olympic champion Maggie Mac Neil. “Initially, there were two goals: to take the stress off the week by qualifying right away and to have a chance to swim the medley relay,” recalled his coach at CAMO, Greg Arkhurst, on Monday.
Harvey’s time – a big personal best of 57.31 seconds – put him in sight of an Olympic semi-final appearance. Being among the eight finalists looked much more complex, even more so given the results of the U.S. Trials in Indianapolis, where Gretchen Walsh ran a world record time of 55.18 seconds on Saturday. Two other Americans went under the 56-second mark.
“The truth is she has a hell of a better chance of being in the top eight, if not better, in the 200 freestyle,” Arkhurst added.
In the 4 x 100m relay, the CAMO coach considers the Canadians “real underdogs” for a podium. “We are perhaps the team that has more room to improve compared to the addition of times. […] Medal or not, it remains an Olympic final, there will be a big emotional charge. Do we need to add more? In terms of management, this may be the best choice. »
Even if one event were dropped, the Trois-Rivières native’s Paris week will be filled with three other potential relays (4 X 100 medley, 4 X 100 mixed and 4 X 200). She wants to rise to the occasion, as was the case at the Pan American Games last fall.
“I’ve had discussions with Swimming Canada and they would like me to also do a good portion of the relays in the preliminaries to help the younger ones relax and relieve stress,” noted Harvey, limited to the heats of 4 X 200m in Tokyo (4th). “It’s important to have a veteran. It makes me happy to play this role and it will also mean that I will have a lot of challenges! »
Harvey’s withdrawal will allow Alberta’s Rebecca Smith, third in Toronto with the qualifying standard, to start the 100m butterfly in the City of Lights.
As with the 400m IM, where she withdrew from the Trials, Mary-Sophie Harvey is not putting the butterfly aside. Her place is already reserved for the distance at the Short Course World Championships in Budapest in December.
“I had all the support I needed from Greg and Swimming Canada. I am truly at peace with my decision. »
The swimmer, her coach and a few teammates left for Europe on Monday. First stop: Rome, where they will compete in the Seven Hills Trophy, from Friday to Sunday. On the program for Harvey: 100m, 200m and 400m freestyle as well as… the 100m butterfly. Penny Oleksiak will join them looking to punch her individual Olympic ticket in the 100m freestyle. Jeremy Bagshaw, qualified for his first Olympics on his fifth try at the age of 32, will also be there.
The small group will then continue its preparation in Spain before the Canadian team’s final training camp in Caen, starting on July 13.
