Joshua Liendo

Joshua Liendo
Personal information
Full nameJoshua Liendo Edwards
National teamCanada
Born (2002-08-20) August 20, 2002 (age 22)
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Height1.92 m (6 ft 4 in)
Sport
SportSwimming
StrokesFreestyle, butterfly
ClubHigh Performance Centre – Ontario
College teamUniversity of Florida
CoachAnthony Nesty
Medal record
Men's swimming
Representing  Canada
Event 1st 2nd 3rd
Olympic Games 0 1 0
World Championships (LC) 0 2 2
World Championships (SC) 1 0 2
World Junior Championships 0 1 2
Commonwealth Games 1 0 3
Total 2 4 9
Olympic Games
Silver medal – second place 2024 Paris 100 m butterfly
World Championships (LC)
Silver medal – second place 2022 Budapest 4×100 m mixed freestyle
Silver medal – second place 2023 Fukuoka 100 m butterfly
Bronze medal – third place 2022 Budapest 100 m freestyle
Bronze medal – third place 2022 Budapest 100 m butterfly
World Championships (SC)
Gold medal – first place 2021 Abu Dhabi 4×50 m mixed freestyle
Bronze medal – third place 2021 Abu Dhabi 50 m freestyle
Bronze medal – third place 2021 Abu Dhabi 100 m freestyle
Commonwealth Games
Gold medal – first place 2022 Birmingham 100 m butterfly
Bronze medal – third place 2022 Birmingham 50 m freestyle
Bronze medal – third place 2022 Birmingham 4×100 m freestyle
Bronze medal – third place 2022 Birmingham 4×100 m mixed freestyle
World Junior Championships
Silver medal – second place 2019 Budapest 100 m freestyle
Bronze medal – third place 2019 Budapest 4×100 m medley
Bronze medal – third place 2019 Budapest 4×100 m mixed medley
Junior Pan Pacific Championships
Bronze medal – third place 2018 Suva 4×100 m medley

Joshua Liendo Edwards (born August 20, 2002) is a Canadian competitive swimmer who is an Olympic silver medalist.[1] He is the first Black Canadian swimmer to win an individual medal at a major international championship.[2][3] At the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, Liendo won a silver medal in the men's 100 m butterfly. [4]

A four-time World Aquatics Championships medallist and three-time FINA World Swimming Championships medallist, he is also the 2022 Commonwealth champion in the 100 metre butterfly and represented Canada at the 2020 Summer Olympics. [5][6]

Career

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Early life

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Liendo was born in Toronto, Ontario to Trinidadian parents, and spent his early childhood in Trinidad and Tobago, beginning to learn to swim there. He swam with the Silver Sharks Swim Club in Trinidad and Tobago.

His family relocated to Scarborough when he was nine years old.[7] He began club swimming with the Toronto Olympian Swim Team, before moving to the North York Aquatic Club.[8][2] He would later cite Michael Phelps as his inspiration to focus on the butterfly discipline.[8]

At the 2017 Canadian junior championships, Liendo set an age group record in the 100 m butterfly, swimming it in 54.76 seconds, which he would later cite as the moment he knew he could go far in the sport.[2] At the 2018 Junior Pan Pacific Swimming Championships, held in August in Suva, Fiji, he won a bronze medal in the 400 metre medley relay, splitting a 53.65 for the butterfly leg of the relay to contribute to the final time of 3:21.32.[9] Liendo was named to his first national team for the 2018 Summer Youth Olympics held in October in Buenos Aires, Argentina.[10]

2019 season

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Liendo's first senior team was at the 2019 World Aquatics Championships, where he competed in the 4×100 men's medley relay.[11] The team finished in tenth place and did not qualify for the finals.[12]

Later in the year, Liendo won three medals at the 2019 FINA World Junior Swimming Championships in Budapest, and for that performance was named as Swimming Canada's junior male swimmer of the year.[13] At a time when Swimming Canada was enjoying enormous success with its women's program while the men's program was struggling, Liendo was widely identified as perhaps the most promising emerging talent on the men's side.[14]

2021 season

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As part of the 2021 Canadian Olympic swimming trials in Toronto, Liendo broke the national record in the 100 m butterfly event, with a time of 51.40. This qualified him for the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.[15][16][17][18]

Liendo competed in three individual events in Tokyo (the 50 m and 100 m freestyle and the 100 m butterfly), but did not advance beyond the semi-finals in any of them. He was part of the Canadian team in the 4x100 m freestyle relay that unexpectedly qualified to the event final and the finished in fourth place, 0.60 seconds back of a bronze medal.[14] He also swam the butterfly leg of the 4×100 m medley relay, where the Canadian team finished seventh.[3]

Following the Olympics, Liendo competed at the FINA World Swimming Championships in Abu Dhabi. He won individual bronze medals in the 50 m and 100 m freestyle events, and was part of the gold medal-winning Canadian team in the 4×50 m mixed freestyle relay.[3] Of the gold medal, he remarked "I wasn't expecting a gold medal going into it. To look at the board and see gold medal, world champion, looking back on that it was a crazy moment being on top of that board and hearing that anthem. It definitely made me want more."[2]

2022 season

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Liendo began the 2022 World Aquatics Championships as part of the Canadian team for the 4×100 m freestyle relay, where they finished in sixth place. He then qualified to an individual World Championship event final for the first time in the 100 m freestyle, ranking third in the semi-finals with another personal best time.[19] In the event final, Liendo led at the halfway mark, finishing third to take the bronze medal in a close contest, with only 0.07 seconds separating him and silver medalist Maxime Grousset of France. This was the first individual medal at the World Championships for a Canadian man since Ryan Cochrane's final bronze medal in 2015.[20] On the day after his bronze medal, the championships' schedule called on Liendo to perform a "double-double," swimming in two heats in the morning session and two semi-finals in the evening session to qualify for the finals of both the 100 m butterfly and the 50 m freestyle. He was third among semi-finalists in both.[21] The following day, Liendo competed in three finals in the evening session, finishing fifth in the 50 m freestyle before winning his second bronze medal in the 100 m butterfly. He then joined the Canadian team in the 4×100 m mixed freestyle relay, leading off the event and helping win a silver medal. He remarked "it was a fun night."[22]

Named to Canada's team for the 2022 Commonwealth Games, Liendo began the first day of the championships by winning the bronze medal in the mixed 4×100 m freestyle relay, and qualifying to the event final of the 50 m butterfly by placing ninth in the heats and fourth in the semi-finals.[23] The following day he placed sixth in the 50 m butterly final with a new personal best time of 23.42, and won a bronze with the men's team in the 4×100 m freestyle. This was the first men's relay medal for Canada at a major event since the 2015 Pan American Games, and the first at the Commonwealth Games since 2006.[24] On the fourth day, Liendo finished seventh in the 100 m freestyle final, and qualified to the 100 m butterfly with the fourth-fastest time in the semi-finals. He noted that "the butterfly feels a lot better than freestyle right now."[25] He went on to win gold in the 100 m butterfly final, his first individual gold at a major championship.[26] On the final day of the swimming competitions, he won a bronze medal in the 50 m freestyle, his fourth medal of the Games. Liendo admitted afterward that there’s been some ups and downs at these Games but I'm glad to finish it off like this against a great field."[27]

In the fall, Liendo began attending the University of Florida where he competes collegiately for the Florida Gators, having committed to attend in mid-August.[28]

2023 season

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Liendo started his 2023 season by competing at the 2023 SEC Swimming and Diving Championships, where he won the men's 100-yard butterfly title in a time of 44.11 and placed second in both the 50- and 100-yard freestyles, going 18.39 and 42.24, respectively. He also won 2 SEC relay titles. In the 200-yard freestyle relay, he split 18.02 and the relay broke the SEC Meet Record in a time of 1:14.19; in the 400-yard medley relay, he split 43.35 on the butterfly leg to go 0.01 off of the fastest 100 butterfly relay split ever, and the relay broke the SEC record in a time of 2:59.48.[29] At the 2023 NCAA Division I Championships, Liendo won gold in the 100-yard freestyle and silver in the 50-yard freestyle and 100-yard butterly events, and helped the Florida relay teams to three gold medals and a bronze medal in relay events.[30] Following the end of the collegiate season, Liendo broke the Canadian record in the 100 m butterfly twice at the Canadian trials, posting a 50.78 in the heats and a 50.36 in the evening final. He later set a world-leading time in the 50 m freestyle, swimming a 21.80.[30]

In his first day of competition at the 2023 World Aquatics Championships in Budapest, Liendo was part of the Canadian men's fifth-place 4×100 m freestyle relay team, and came fifteenth in the semi-finals of the 50 m butterfly.[31] He was fourteenth in the semi-finals of the 100 m freestyle, missing that final as well. Liendo noted he had "changed a lot of things in my freestyle this year," adding "I have some work to do."[32] In the semi-finals of the 100 m butterfly, he finished in third place to qualify to the final, and on the same day placed eighth in the semi-finals of the 50 m freestyle, qualifying to that final by a narrow 0.03 margin over American Ryan Held and Ukraine's Vladyslav Bukhov. However, he opted against participating in the latter final, wanting to focus on the butterfly.[33] The following day he won silver in the 100 m butterfly final with a new national record time of 50.34, and was part of a fourth-place mixed 4×100 freestyle relay team.[34] In his final swim of the championships, he and the men's 4×100 m medley relay team came seventh.[35]

Personal bests

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Long course (50-metre pool)

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Event Time[36] Venue Date Notes Ref
50 m freestyle 21.48 Toronto Pan Am Sports Centre, Toronto May 18, 2024 NR
100 m freestyle 47.55 Duna Aréna, Budapest June 21, 2022
50 m butterfly 23.27 Toronto Pan Am Sports Centre, Toronto April 3, 2023
100 m butterfly 50.06 Toronto Pan Am Sports Centre, Toronto May 19, 2024 NR

References

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  1. ^ Robertson, Grant. Canadians dominate men’s 100-metre butterfly, Josh Liendo and Ilya Kharun win silver and bronze. The Globe and Mail. https://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/olympics/article-canadians-dominate-mens-100-metre-butterfly-josh-liendo-and-ilya/
  2. ^ a b c d "Celebrating Black History Month: Getting to know Joshua Liendo". Swimming Canada. February 8, 2022. Retrieved June 21, 2022.
  3. ^ a b c Heroux, Devin (April 7, 2022). "Canadian teen Josh Liendo aims to break both records and barriers in swimming". CBC Sports. Retrieved June 21, 2022.
  4. ^ Canada's Liendo wins silver, Kharun bronze in Olympic men's 100 butterfly, The Canadian Press
  5. ^ "Joshua Liendo", Swimming Canada, retrieved June 19, 2021
  6. ^ "Swimming – Joshua Liendo". the-sports.org/. Info Média Conseil. Retrieved June 19, 2021.
  7. ^ Bregman, Scott (May 31, 2022). "Inspired by Michael Phelps, Josh Liendo has pool podiums and representation as swim goals". Olympics. Archived from the original on August 9, 2024. Retrieved August 9, 2024.
  8. ^ a b De George, Matthew (February 7, 2022). "Joshua Liendo: Canadian Youngster Ready to Take the Next Big Step". Swimming World. Retrieved June 21, 2022.
  9. ^ Hy-Tek (August 26, 2018). "Meet Results: 2018 Jr Pan Pacific Swimming Championships". swmeets.com. Retrieved November 13, 2022.
  10. ^ "Promising junior, youth teams named after successful Canadian Championships". Swimming Canada. April 9, 2018. Retrieved June 19, 2021.
  11. ^ Sutherland, James (April 7, 2021). "Canada Names 25 to 2019 World Championship Team". SwimSwam. Retrieved June 19, 2021.
  12. ^ "Heats results" (PDF). Omega Timing. Retrieved June 21, 2022.
  13. ^ Ross, Andy (December 20, 2019). "Emma O'Croinin, Joshua Liendo Named Swimming Canada Junior Swimmers of the Year". Swimming World. Retrieved June 19, 2021.
  14. ^ a b De George, Matthew (August 5, 2021). "With Brent Hayden Leading, Youthful Canadian Men's Program Shows Promise in Tokyo". Swimming World. Retrieved August 13, 2021.
  15. ^ Dornan, Ben (June 19, 2021). "Canadian Trials: Liendo Blasts 51.40 Canadian 100 Fly Record During Prelims". SwimSwam. Retrieved June 19, 2021.
  16. ^ "26 athletes nominated to Canada's Olympic swimming team". CBC Sports. June 24, 2021. Retrieved June 24, 2021.
  17. ^ "Canada's Tokyo 2020 Swimming Team Announced". Swimming Canada. June 24, 2021. Retrieved June 24, 2021.
  18. ^ Nichols, Paula (June 24, 2021). "Team Canada to have 26 swimmers at Tokyo 2020". Canadian Olympic Committee. Retrieved June 24, 2021.
  19. ^ "Sizzling semis for Canadians at FINA World Championships". Swimming Canada. June 21, 2022. Retrieved June 21, 2022.
  20. ^ "Stars are born: Canadian teens McIntosh, Liendo land gold, bronze at swimming worlds". CBC Sports. June 22, 2022. Retrieved June 22, 2022.
  21. ^ "Liendo completes double-double, Oleksiak and Wog place fourth". Swimming Canada. June 23, 2022. Retrieved June 24, 2022.
  22. ^ "Two more medals make for Canada's best ever Worlds". Swimming Canada. June 24, 2022. Retrieved June 24, 2022.
  23. ^ "Summer McIntosh wins gold, Canada adds relay bronze to open Commonwealth Games". Swimming Canada. July 29, 2022. Retrieved July 29, 2022.
  24. ^ "Maggie Mac Neil and Nicolas-Guy Turbide win thrilling races on four-medal night". Swimming Canada. July 30, 2022. Retrieved July 30, 2022.
  25. ^ "Summer McIntosh triumphs again to highlight four-medal day for Canada". Swimming Canada. August 1, 2022. Retrieved August 1, 2022.
  26. ^ Lohn, John (August 2, 2022). "Canadian Joshua Liendo Breaks Through With Gold in 100 Butterfly". Swimming World. Retrieved August 2, 2022.
  27. ^ "Two gold medals cement strong finish at Commonwealth Games". Swimming Canada. August 3, 2022. Retrieved August 3, 2022.
  28. ^ Sutherland, James (August 18, 2022). "Canadian Olympian Josh Liendo Set To Join University of Florida This Season". SwimSwam.
  29. ^ Matthew, De George (March 10, 2023). "Steady diet of racing at Florida putting Joshua Liendo in position for 2024". Swimming World. Retrieved September 3, 2023.
  30. ^ a b Caela, Fenton (July 5, 2023). "Joshua Liendo eyes return to podium at World Aquatics Championships". Canadian Olympic Committee. Retrieved September 3, 2023.
  31. ^ "Canada hits Worlds pool with two top 5 performances". Swimming Canada. July 23, 2023. Retrieved September 3, 2023.
  32. ^ "Bronze in 200 freestyle for Summer McIntosh". Swimming Canada. July 26, 2023. Retrieved September 3, 2023.
  33. ^ "Liendo and Masse charge into weekend finals". Swimming Canada. July 28, 2023. Retrieved September 3, 2023.
  34. ^ "Liendo reaches new heights with silver Canadian record in 100 fly". Swimming Canada. July 29, 2023. Retrieved August 1, 2022.
  35. ^ "McIntosh closes Worlds with gold, medley relay takes bronze". Swimming Canada. July 30, 2023. Retrieved September 3, 2023.
  36. ^ "Joshua Liendo profile". Swimming Canada. Retrieved April 3, 2023.
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