DAY 2 RECAP: Gee-Gees get on podium as Perreault wins national bronze in 50m fly

QUEBEC CITY – The Garnet and Grey ascended to the podium on day two of action at the U SPORTS Swimming Championships at Université Laval on Friday.

The story of the night was Alexandre Perreault swimming a 23.73 in the 50m butterfly to earn a national bronze medal and give Gee-Gees their first podium finish of the championship.

"It felt amazing," said Perreault. "Getting on that podium is the one thing everyone wants going into U SPORTS. I feel like it was the weight on the shoulders that was causing a little bit more stress than what was needed. Now that it's gone, I'm really happy and I'm ready to swim really fast tomorrow."

Other highlights of the night included an outstanding performance from Hugo Lemesle, finishing fifth in the 200m breaststroke with a time of 2:10.35, within .25 of a second from the bronze medal winner.

Adelle Yamashita-Ball impressed with a dominant win in the B final of the 400m freestyle. Later in the women's 200m butterfly, Abigail McKinley logged a strong showing in the A final, while Kate Nielson and Rachel McInnes finished first and second in the C final.

A key inspirational performance came near the end of the night in the women's 4x200m relay. The team comprised of lone veteran Yamashita-Ball and three eighteen-year-old rookies in McInnes, Taylor Elliott, and Amy Meharg battled to an impressive sixth-place finish, neck-and-neck with teams of much more experienced swimmers.

Key races to watch on the final day will be the men's 4x100m medley relay, as well as the men's 50m breaststroke, which in prelims will feature seven different Gee-Gees swimmers vying for a place in the finals.

The 2022 U SPORTS Swimming Championships will conclude on Saturday with the heats starting at 10 a.m. and finals beginning at 6 p.m. The preliminary heats can be followed live each morning on U SPORTS' Facebook page while the finals are on CBC Sports' platforms

Results and start lists are available here.