U SPORTS RECAP: Lemesle picks up second, Gee-Gees men rank fifth heading into final day of competition

The Gee-Gees had another great day in Pointe-Claire, completing day two of the 2024 U SPORTS Championship.

Hugo Lemesle led the charge, becoming the first to qualify for an A-final during a successful 200m breaststroke prelim. Three more Gee-Gees went on to qualify for A-final races in their respective events.

In the finals, Lemesle was far beyond his competition in the 200m breaststroke final, finishing with a time of 2:14.8 to earn his second career U SPORTS gold medal.

"I've matured a lot. Since last year, I've learned how to win, I've learned how to deal with the emotions. I'm more calm and chill," Lemesle said about his performance.

Ottawa head coach Dave Heinbuch acknowledged Lemesle's growth.

"Hugo's turned into a real top-level swimmer," Heinbuch said. "His training has improved and his attitude in how he races has come a long way."

The 100m backstroke saw two Ottawa swimmers in the A-final, Evan Aguiar-Winter was nudged off the podium by less than a second, recording a time of 57.45. Fellow Gee-Gee, Ethan Fast, put up a time of 58.63 in the race.

Alym Kurji (59.12) and Noah Wagner (1:00.58) swam in the B and C-finals for the event, while Abigail McKinley (1:07.29) and Isabelle Melanson (1:06.22) did the same on the women's side.

Brendan Van Herk placed fifth in the 200m medley (2:06.87) with teammate Colin Shearer closing out the A-final at 2:08.52.

The men's team heads into the final day of competition with 350 points, good for fifth place.

"We're really excited about with all the swimmers that we have swimming in the final session," said Heinbuch. "Sure, we'd like to win more medals too and I think we have some chances tomorrow."

Lemesle will look to keep his medalling streak alive as he competes in the 50m breaststroke.

"First, the goal is to be in the A-final, then it's to just race it," Lemesle said.

The event closes with the highly anticipated 4x100m medley, an event that the team of Kurji, Van Herk, Lemesle, and Aguiar-Winter medalled in at the RSEQ championship.

For full results and heat sheets for the championship, click HERE. Preliminaries and finals will be streaming live on CBC Gem and the CBC Sports' YouTube channel.