Yuri Kisil Explained

Yuri Kisil
Nicknames:Kisil The Missile
Birth Date:18 September 1995
Birth Place:Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Height:2.00 m
Weight:90 kg
Strokes:Freestyle
Club:Toronto Titans (ISL 2020); London Roar (ISL 2019).[1] High Performance Centre-Ontario, Whitby Dolphins, High Performance Centre-Vancouver, UBC Dolphins, Cascade Swim Club, University of Calgary Dinos.
Collegeteam:UBC Thunderbirds

Yuri Kisil (born September 18, 1995) is a Canadian competitive swimmer who is a freestyle sprinter. A three-time medallist at the World Aquatics Championships, Kisil has represented Canada at the 2016 and 2020 Summer Olympics.

Career

2013–2016

Kisil's selection to the World Junior Championships in Dubai was his first major junior international competition. At this event he became the Canadian 15–17 age group national record holder in the 50 m Freestyle. Kisil was the youngest swimmer in Canadian history to win both the 50 m and 100 m freestyle national championships at the Canadian Swimming Trials in Victoria, British Columbia, on April 3, 2014. He was also the youngest Canadian to ever swim under 50 seconds in the 100m freestyle at the same event. As a result, Kisil was named to Canada's 2014 Commonwealth Games team, where he placed fourth in the 100m Freestyle.[2]

At the 2015 Pan American Games in Toronto, Kisil won three relay medals. He was named to compete at the 2015 World Aquatics Championships in Kazan, Russia, where he won a bronze medal in the inaugural mixed freestyle relay.[3]

In 2016, Kisil was named to Canada's Olympic team for the 2016 Summer Olympics.[4] He was part of the relay team that finished seventh in the freestyle final, and individually got to the 100 m freestyle semifinals, finishing tenth.[2]

2016–2021

In April 2017, Kisil was named to Canada's team for the 2017 World Aquatics Championships in Budapest, Hungary.[5] [6] He finished tenth in the semi-finals of the 100 m freestyle, and won two bronze medals as part of Canada's relay teams in the mixed freestyle and mixed medley.[7]

In September 2017, he was named to Canada's team for the 2018 Commonwealth Games.[8] [9] Kisil made the finals of both the 50 m and 100 m freestyle, finishing fifth and seventh. At the 2018 Pan Pacific Championships in Tokyo, Kisil captured bronze in the 50 m freestyle, his first major individual international medal. He said afterward "I've wanted to get on the podium individually for a long time. To finally do it here means the world.".[10] Following this, he departed longtime coach Tom Johnson to train in Toronto with Ben Titley, after being disappointed with the times he had been recording in the 100 m.[11]

2019 saw the launch of the International Swimming League, a professional competition circuit for swimmers. Kisil signed with the London Roar in the inaugural season. London Roar was one of the four team to reach the ISL's season finale in Las Vegas, where they finished in second place.[12] In spring 2020, Kisil signed with the Toronto Titans, the first Canada-based team in the ISL.[13] Competing at the 2019 World Aquatics Championships in Gwangju, he came seventeenth in the heats of the 100 m, just missing the semi-finals.[11]

The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in the 2020 Summer Olympics being delayed by a year. In June 2021, Kisil was named to Canada's 2020 Olympic team.[14] [15] [16] He was part of Canada's team in the freestyle relay, who unexpectedly finished in fourth place despite not even being initially favoured to make the event final.[17]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: ISL Announces the London Roar Team Roster for the 2019 Season.
  2. News: Hung. Andrew. September 17, 2016. The sprinter: How UBC student Yuri Kisil became an Olympian. The Ubyssey. August 15, 2021.
  3. Web site: Swimming world championships: Canada earns bronze in mixed relay . Cleveland . Amy . 8 August 2015 . www.cbc.ca/ . Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) . 10 April 2017.
  4. Web site: Olympic Team Nominated for Rio 2016 . 10 April 2016 . Swimming Canada . 27 April 2016.
  5. Web site: Sutherland . James . Canada To Send 26 Pool, 6 Open Water Swimmers To World Championships . 9 April 2017 . www.swimswam.com . Swim Swam . 10 April 2017.
  6. Web site: Sydney Pickrem Sets Canadian Record, Team Canada Named on Exciting Final Night at Trials . 9 April 2017 . www.swimming.ca/ . . 10 April 2017.
  7. Web site: How Canada fared at the world aquatics championships . 31 July 2017 . www.cbc.ca/ . Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) . 15 August 2021 .
  8. Web site: Swimming Canada Nominates 26 Athletes to Canada's 2018 Commonwealth Games Team . 26 September 2017 . www.swimming.ca/ . . 27 September 2017.
  9. Web site: Oleksiak, Masse headline Canadian swim team for Commonwealth Games . 26 September 2017 . www.cbc.ca/ . Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) . 27 September 2017.
  10. Web site: Kisil's bronze highlights UBC's participation at Pan Pacific Championships . 14 August 2018 . www.gothunderbirds.ca/ . . 15 August 2021.
  11. News: Ross. Andy. March 7, 2020. Yuri Kisil's Cross-Country Move to Toronto Paying Dividends For Born-Again Sprinter. Swimming Magazine. August 15, 2021.
  12. Web site: ISL Announces The London Roar Team Roster For The 2019 Season . 18 June 2019 . www.prnewswire.com . PR Newswire . 15 August 2021.
  13. Web site: Toronto Titans laden with Canadian talent in International Swimming League's second season . 15 October 2020 . www.cbc.ca/ . Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) . 15 August 2021 .
  14. Web site: 26 athletes nominated to Canada's Olympic swimming team. 24 June 2021. www.cbc.ca/. CBC Sports. 24 June 2021.
  15. Web site: Canada's Tokyo 2020 Swimming Team Announced. 24 June 2021. www.swimming.ca/. Swimming Canada. 24 June 2021.
  16. News: Team Canada to have 26 swimmers at Tokyo 2020. Nichols. Paula. 24 June 2021. www.olympic.ca/. Canadian Olympic Committee. 24 June 2021.
  17. News: De George. Matthew. August 5, 2021. With Brent Hayden Leading, Youthful Canadian Men's Program Shows Promise in Tokyo. Swimming World. August 13, 2021.