Salmon Arm swimmer James Lebuke made a dramatic rise up the rankings during the second day of the Canadian Swimming Trials in Toronto, April 4.

The Canadian Swimming Trials is a national competition with strict qualifying guidelines, pitting the top swimmers in the country from each age and skill category against one another.

READ MORE: Selkirks strike gold in provincial swimming championships

The event serves as a part of the selection process for the Canadian national team as well, with some of the top swimmers moving on to compete on the national team in world championships and the Pan American Games.

During competition on April 3, James Lebuke of the Columbia-Shuswap Selkirks Swim Club powered through his heat in the 100m long-course freestyle event with a time of 50.47 seconds – a 1.5 second improvement on his qualifying time.

READ MORE: Selkirks swimmer powers to national level

This strong performance in the freestyle event moves Lebuke up from 29th overall in his age group to ninth place in the country. According to Selkirks’ coach Barry Healey, this is a great sign for Lebuke and only two swimmers in the 18 and under age group have managed to break the top 20 in national rankings.

Competition in the Canadian Swimming Trials runs until April 7 in Toronto.

READ MORE: Selkirks swimmers make medal-worthy finishes in Regional A event

Salmon Arm Observer