Josh Liendo Repeats as Swimming Canada Male Swimmer of the Year
Josh Liendo’s silver medal at the Paris Olympics earned him Swimming Canada’s Male Swimmer of the Year honor this week.
The 22-year-old earns the honor for the third straight year, the first to do that since Ryan Cochrane’s run of eight straight from 2008-15. Liendo was also the Male Junior Swimmer of the Year in 2019 and 2021.
“It’s always an honour to be recognized,” Liendo told Swimming Canada. “I know there’s a lot of good athletes who can be in the mix. I never take it for granted. Even though the rest of the country is getting better I still want to work and be at that top level. It just shows that the work I’m putting in is still helping me improve. I appreciate every time I get this.”
Liendo swam at his second Olympics in Paris. The native of Scarborough, who swam at North York Aquatic Club before joining the High Performance Center Ontario, won silver in the men’s 100 butterfly at the Paris Olympics. He shared the podium with countryman Ilya Kharun, who won bronze in both the 100 fly and 200 fly.
Liendo also finished fourth in the 50 freestyle the night before the 100 fly medal. He set national record in both events at Canadian Trials last year. He lowered his record to 49.99 in the 100 fly at the Olympics.
Liendo trains at the University of Florida. He’s the two-time NCAA champion in the men’s 100 freestyle, and added 50 free and 100 fly titles in 2024. The 13-time All-American has five career NCAA relay championships and was named the 2024 SEC Male Swimmer of the Year.
In Paris, he helped Canadian relays finish fifth in the men’s medley and mixed medley relays and sixth in the men’s 400 free relay. Liendo’s medal made him the first Black Canadian swimmer ever to medal at the Olympics.
“In the moment it was awesome having me and Ilya on the podium,” he said. ““From the standpoint of me and Ilya, and me being the first Black Canadian (swimmer) to medal at an Olympics, I feel like it is just motivation for the rest of the country and people coming up. Hopefully we can inspire the next generation, keep this momentum moving forward in the sport in Canada. I feel like swimming has a lot of room to grow and should be a bigger sport in the country.”
