Taylor Ruck gives Canadian swimming a glimpse into the future

When Taylor Ruck wants to reminisce about the 2018 Commonwealth Games, it won’t be hard to do.

The 17-year-old Canadian swimmer will have a shiny souvenir from each of the eight events she entered at the Gold Coast Aquatics Centre, and will also have her name in the Commonwealth Games record books.

After anchoring the Canadian women’s 4×100-metre medley relay team to a silver Tuesday, Ruck earned a piece of the single-Games record for medals won by any athlete, from any country, in any sport. She shares it with three swimmers: Canada’s Ralph Hutton (1966) and Australians Susie O’Neill (1998) and Emily Seebohm (2010).

Ruck is also now the most decorated Canadian female athlete ever at a single Commonwealth Games. That mark had stood for 52 years, since fellow swimmer Elaine Tanner won seven in 1966.

Ruck may have had certain targets in mind when she got here, but eight medals was not one of them.

“Not in my wildest dreams,” she said. “This meet has been fantastic for Team Canada and I’m just so happy to be able to share so many experiences with my best friends.”