Toronto's Chetrat breaks meet record at Canada Cup

University of Toronto Varsity Blues swimmer Zach Chetrat broke the 200m butterfly meet record at the 2009 Canada Cup short course swimming competition (Nov. 27-29) at the Etobicoke Olympium.

The second-year psychology major finished the race with a time of 1:57.60 to eclipse the previous meet standard of 1:57.63 set by Stefan Hirniak of Victoria, B.C. last year. Hirniak was second on Sunday in 1:58.98 and David Sharpe of Halifax third in 1:59.89.

"This meet features all the national swimmers of the country so winning a gold medal is a big accomplishment," said head coach Byron MacDonald. "Zack's training has been some of the best of his life over the past two months so this performance was expected - but you still have to do it and he did."

This is Chetrat's second record-breaking performance in as many years in the men's 200m butterfly. The Oakville, Ont. native broke a 10-year-old record on his way to a first-place finish in the men's 200m butterfly at the 2008-09 OUA championships. Chetrat won the race in a time of 2:00.27, bettering Bob Hayes' 1999 mark of 2:00.62

Other notable performances this weekend include Poppy Ruksys's fifth-place finish in the women's 800m freestyle. The Kingston, Ont. native finished the race with a time of 8:52.67 to finish in the top eight at the Canada Cup for the first time in her three-year university career.

Fourth-year veteran Cam Cummings (Oakville, Ont.) also earned two top-eight finishes, placing sixth and seventh in the 400m individual medley (IM) and 200m backstroke, respectively.

Full Results

The Varsity Blues return to action in 2010 when they travel to Guelph, Ont. on Saturday, January 9 for a dual meet with the Gryphons.

For more information, scores and highlights on your favourite Toronto teams, please visit the home of the Varsity Blues at http://www.varsityblues.ca.