April 11, 2016

TORONTO, Ontario, Canada — University of South Carolina sophomore Bryce Kananowicz recently completed an extremely successful run at the 2016 Canadian Olympic Trials, which concluded on Sunday. Kananowicz raced in three events at the Toronto Pan Am Sports Centre and made two A finals along with setting three new personal records.

Kananowicz started out with the 100m backstroke on Wednesday. He qualified 10th in prelims with a swim of 57.03, earning a spot in the finals, where the winner would qualify for the 2016 Rio Olympics. In the evening race, Kananowicz placed ninth, lowering his time to 56.99.

On Saturday, Kananowicz was back in the pool for the 200m backstroke. He again booked passage into the finals with a prelims swim of 2:20.87, almost three seconds lower than his previous top time. The Gamecock sophomore again went lower in the finals session, finishing sixth with a swim of 2:02.65.

Last but not least was the 200m IM, where Kananowicz came in 27th on Sunday. He again set a new personal record with his time of 2:07.64.

“Bryce made great strides this season, and I was proud to see him represent our program in two finals races at Canadian Olympic Trials,” said South Carolina head swimming coach McGee Moody. “He has tremendous talent, and I have no doubt he can build on this experience and use it to become a major factor for us next season at the SEC and NCAA Championships.”

Kananowicz is South Carolina’s school record holder in the 200-yard backstroke, swimming a time of 1:44.21 at the 2015 SEC Championships. This past season, he earned a 100-yard backstroke victory at the South Carolina Quad Meet on Jan. 23, one of 14 top-five swims he posted as a sophomore.