King breaks 400 record, UBC takes points lead at Canadian university swim championship

The Canadian Press

MONTREAL - Canadian Olympian Savannah King broke a national record in the women's 400-metre freestyle to help the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds take a big points lead at the Canadian university swimming championship.

King touched the wall in four minutes 02.76 seconds Friday to break Canadian record of 4:03.61 set in 2003 by Brittany Reimer, as well as the championship mark of 4:07.60.

King was the defending CIS champion in the event. She placed 19th in the 400 free at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

"Breaking the Canadian record wasn't a total surprise because it was definitely one of my objectives. But I never thought I'd break it by that much," said King. "There's so much atmosphere in this pool it made it that much more exciting.

"The CIS championships are a perfect tune-up as we prepare for the Olympic trials and this performance is great for my confidence."

UBC added three gold medals on Friday including Martha McCabe in the women's 200 breaststroke (2:23.02), Tommy Gossland in the men’s 50 free (22.15), and the 4x200 free relay (7:14.28) comprised of Gossland, Matthew Godbeer, Roru Biskupski and Duncan Furrer.

UBC leads the women's standings with 518 points, followed by reigning national champion Calgary (402.5), while Toronto is third at 234.5.

UBC also has a slim lead atop the men's standings with 405 points. Toronto is second at 378, while Calgary ranks third with 235 points.