Despite coming up shy of redemption in relay, Calgarian still has plenty of pool play ahead of him in Paris
He’s known as ‘Kisil the Missile’ in the pool.
Fast, of course.
A weapon for Canada in swimming.
And ready to launch — in multiple events — at the 2024 Summer Olympic Games in Paris.
“It’s a once-in-a-lifetime experience, and I’ve been lucky enough to experience it now for my third time,” said Calgary’s Yuri Kisil of his adventure in the pool of the Paris La Defense Arena in Nanterre, France.
“But I know this is probably gonna be the last time for me, so I just want to soak it all in and really just enjoy the experience,” continued the Cascade Swim Club star. “Of course, I’ve got goals — I want to perform to my best capabilities, but I want to really soak it in, for sure.”
Truth is, the “old man” among Canada’s males on the Olympic swim team has already had his lift-off in Paris.
On Saturday’s Day 1, the 28-year-old Kisil joined Okotoks’ Finlay Knox and Torontonians Josh Liendo and Javier Acevedo in finishing sixth in the men’s 4x100m freestyle relay.
It wasn’t the ending he’d hoped for after he, Liendo, Ruslan Gaziev and decorated Brent Hayden felt heartbreak at the Tokyo Games with a surprising fourth-place finish while setting a Canadian record in the relay.
But unlike many other country-mates in swimming, Kisil gets at least two — if not three — more shots for a medal in France.
He loads up individually for the 100m free Tuesday — with heats (3:15 a.m. MT) and semifinals (12:30 p.m. MT) — and Wednesday — with the final (2:22 p.m. MT).
Then, Kisil teams up for the 4×100 medley relay Saturday — with heats (4:33 a.m. MT) — and Sunday — with the final (11:06 a.m. MT) — and could also swim in the mixed 4-x100 medley relay on Friday — with heats (3:57 a.m. MT) — and Saturday with the final (1:34 p.m. MT).
“I’ve been lucky enough for all my three Olympics to get to swim the 100 free individually,” Kisil said. “So to get another crack at it is always awesome.
“My last eight years, the only best times I’ve gotten in the 100 free have always been at the Olympics. So that’s a good sign to maybe get the best time here and see if I can do a little bit better.”
Kisil comes from a long line of strong swimmers in Calgary, having honed his craft under coach Dave Johnson at both Cascade and the University of Calgary Swim Club.
“Growing up, I used to train at UCSC and (two-time Olympian) Mike Brown was a swimmer there,” Kisil said. “So as a little kid, I remember always seeing him at meets, and we like would give little dinosaur toys for people who got best times. So one time he got a best time, I remember I ran up with a little dinosaur toy and gave it to him and I was freaking out.
“But actually at Cascade, we had a guy named Joel Greenshields, a 2008 Olympian,” continued Kisil. “And that was actually the year where I actually got into the freestyle, because I was always chasing him because I was wanting to beat him every single day. So I always thought there’d be nothing cooler than to beat an Olympian, so that’s why I always did it every single day.
“I really looked up to Joel, and he’s been a huge help through my career and always been checking out my career stuff and egging me on to do better, for sure.”
Kisil will surely have the support of Greenshields, Brown and others in his bid to make medals possible in Paris.
And he feels he’ll find his stroke.
“Especially after the trials, I would say, ‘I’m ready,’” continued Kisil. “Just because I really knocked out what was my best time there, which is crazy. And I’ve got so much more to get even faster, so I think it’s gonna be pretty good. Even last time for Tokyo, I wasn’t even close to my best time at trials, and then I went my best time in Tokyo.”
In his second Olympic appearance at Tokyo 2020, Kisil swam the third leg of that men’s 4x100m freestyle relay team that finished fourth, missing the podium by just six-tenths of a second. He also finished seventh with the men’s 4x100m medley relay squad and was a semifinalist in the 100m freestyle, placing 15th overall.
“It’s not so much redemption,” said Kisil, of what he’s looking for from Paris. “I would say more just an opportunity just to get one more crack at it and just enjoy the experience.”
Because he knows this could be his last Olympics.
So it’s do anything he can to remember it.
“Definitely, I’ll take on that leadership role if the guys give it to me,” added Kisil, who — at the 2014 national trials — became the youngest Canadian man to ever post a sub-50-second time in the 100m freestyle. “I’m not gonna like step up and say, ‘I’m a leader’ and stuff like that to the group. But I’ve always been the kind of guy, who — as soon as I made my first national team almost 10 years ago — wanted to see Canadian men being a real threat and being a medal threat on world stage. I want nothing more than that.
“And seeing the girls break out in 2016 was awesome. I know myself and all the other guys were hungry, and we want to be just there with the women getting those medals, as well.”
Locals on Day 2
Calgary’s Piper Logan was instrumental in leading Canada to an upend of Fiji, the bronze-medallist in Tokyo, 17-14 in Sunday’s 2024 Olympic debut of the women’s rugby sevens in France.
Keyara Wadley, of Vulcan, Alta., scored the winning points on a try with 4:55 remaining in the tilt.
Canmore’s Krissy Scurfield was also pivotal in the contest.
Game 2 for the Canadian women in rugby sevens action saw them lose 33-7 to powerhouse New Zealand.
Canada now faces China on Monday (8 a.m. MT) needing a win to advance from Pool A preliminary play.
And in shooting, Calgary’s Tye Ikeda finished 48th in the 10-metre air rifle men’s qualification event Sunday. The Calgary Rifle & Pistol Club star fired scores of 101.1, 101.2, 103.5, 104.2, 103.7 and 103.7 for a 671.4 total, but it wasn’t high enough to make Monday’s final round.