The Okanagan will be proudly represented at the upcoming Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

Taylor Ruck, a Kelowna native, was officially named to Team Canada over the Victoria Day long weekend, after qualifying at the Olympic and Paralympic Trials that took place in Toronto.

Ruck came second in the 50 metre freestyle finals with a 25.14 second time to punch her ticket to France. She also came fourth in the 100 m freestyle event and third in the 100 m backstroke.

The 23-year-old already has plenty of experience at the international competition. At the 2016 Rio Olympics, Ruck and her relay teammates claimed bronze in the 4x100 and 200 m freestyle. Then, in the 2020 competition in Tokyo, she nabbed a silver medal in the 4x100 m freestyle and bronze in the 4x100 m medley.

In the 2018 Commonwealth Games, Ruck tied the record for most medals won by an athlete at a single games, with eight (one gold, five silver, two bronze).

Also competing at the trials was Alexanne Lepage. The 19-year-old Vernon native was competing at her first Olympic trials, after setting the world on fire in her first year as a University swimmer.

While not making it to the Olympics, Lepage won 31 medals (25 golds) throughout the year, competing for the University of Calgary in U Sports.

At the Toronto trials, Lepage won the B final of the 200 m medley, with a 2:16.48 time. She also tried her hand in the A final of the 200 m breaststroke, swimming to third with a 2:28.52 time.

Paris 2024 begins on July 24, with the swimming set to dive off three days later, on Saturday, July 27.

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