(VERSION FRANÇAISE SUIT)
SHERBROOKE, Que. — Loïc Courville-Fortin, who captured five gold medals and a silver while earning both swimmer of the meet and RSEQ athlete of the year honours, powered the McGill Redbirds to their sixth consecutive conference championship Sunday at the three-day RSEQ swim meet in Sherbrooke.
In 21 races over the weekend, the Redbirds collected nine gold, eight silver and eight bronze medals. They finished first overall with 926 points, ahead of Ottawa (711), Montreal (643), Laval (430.5), Sherbrooke (286.5) and UQTR (66). All gold medalists automatically earn first-team all-star status, while silver medalists merit second-team honours.
The title marked the Redbirds' 16th straight conference meet victory, dating back to 2022, when McGill last finished second at a Cup 2 competition in Ottawa.
Points scored in the RSEQ standings are accumulated over the five league meets, with the championship meet counting for 50 per cent of the final score. McGill also received its sixth straight RSEQ combined banner, which incorporates the men's and women's results over the year.
Courville-Fortin delivered one of the most dominant performances of the championship, breaking both school and RSEQ records in the 100 backstroke with a time of 52.77 seconds. He also struck gold in the 200 backstroke (1:57.14) and the 200 individual medley (1:59.91), and swam on McGill's winning 4x50 medley (1:39.09), 4x100 medley (3:38.09) and 4x100 freestyle (3:19.92) relay teams.
The 4x50 medley and 4x100 medley relays featured Courville-Fortin alongside Erik Linseisen, Robin Domingo and Hocine Feddag, while the 4x100 freestyle relay included Courville-Fortin, Yegor Semenyuk, Feddag and Linseisen.
Courville-Fortin's showing overshadowed teammate Linseisen, who compiled four gold medals and two bronze. Linseisen swept the 50 breaststroke (28.08) and 100 breaststroke (1:01.84), contributed to both medley relay victories and the 4x100 freestyle win, and added bronze in the 200 breaststroke (2:17.30) and 50 butterfly (24.38).
McGill also received a boost in its national championship outlook as Charles-Antoine Boucher secured a new U SPORTS qualifying standard in the 50 backstroke, touching in 25.52 seconds. The performance gives the Redbirds 18 qualified swimmers heading into the national championships in Hamilton, Ont., March 12–14.
Major conference awards were announced following the meet. Courville-Fortin was named both athlete of the year and athlete of the meet. Montreal's Édouard Duffy earned rookie of the year honours. Boucher received the RSEQ leadership and social engagement award, while McGill head coach Peter Carpenter was named coach of the year.
"It was a tough meet, coming off hard weeks of training, but everyone pulled their weight and made every swim count," said McGill assistant coach Nikki van Noord, filling in for Carpenter who had to leave after the competition to tend to his ailing father. "This team really showed their grit and team culture in an awesome way this weekend, and we now shift our focus to bringing a full complement of 18 men 18 women to the nationals."
With another banner secured, the Redbirds now shift their focus to Hamilton, where they will look to build on their conference dominance at the U SPORTS national championship.
LINK TO WOMEN'S RECAP
CHAMPIONSHIP MEET RESULTS
RSEQ STATS & STANDINGS & RECORDS
2026 RSEQ SWIM CHAMPIONSHIP MEET STANDINGS
(Coupe universitaire #5 at Sherbrooke, Feb. 13-15, 2026)
| MEN |
POINTS |
|
MEDAL TABLE |
GOLD |
SILVER |
BRONZE |
TOTAL |
| McGill |
926.0 |
|
McGill |
9 |
8 |
8 |
25 |
| Ottawa |
711.0 |
|
Ottawa |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Montreal |
643.0 |
|
Montreal |
5 |
5 |
5 |
15 |
| Laval |
430.5 |
|
Laval |
0 |
2 |
3 |
5 |
| Sherbrooke |
286.5 |
|
Sherbrooke |
1 |
1 |
3 |
5 |
| UQTR |
66.0 |
|
UQTR |
6 |
5 |
2 |
13 |
|
|
|
TOTAL |
21 |
21 |
21 |
63 |
McGILL MEN — RSEQ CHAMPIONSHIP MEDAL SUMMARY
(Sherbrooke, Que., Feb. 13–15, 2026)
?? GOLD
Loïc Courville-Fortin — 100 backstroke (52.77)
Loïc Courville-Fortin — 200 backstroke (1:57.14)
Loïc Courville-Fortin — 200 individual medley (1:59.91)
Erik Linseisen — 50 breaststroke (28.08)
Erik Linseisen — 100 breaststroke (1:01.84)
Robin Domingo — 200 butterfly (2:00.52)
4x100 freestyle relay — Loïc Courville-Fortin, Yegor Semenyuk, Hocine Feddag, Erik Linseisen (3:19.92)
4x50 medley relay — Loïc Courville-Fortin, Erik Linseisen, Robin Domingo, Hocine Feddag (1:39.09)
4x100 medley relay — Loïc Courville-Fortin, Erik Linseisen, Robin Domingo, Hocine Feddag (3:38.09)
?? SILVER
Hocine Feddag — 50 freestyle (22.66)
Hocine Feddag — 100 freestyle (49.93)
Artiom Volodin — 200 freestyle (1:48.35)
Loïc Courville-Fortin — 50 backstroke (24.96)
Torren Vandersteen — 200 butterfly (2:01.56)
Yegor Semenyuk — 400 individual medley (4:25.22)
4x50 freestyle relay — Loïc Courville-Fortin, Hocine Feddag, Augustin Boussion, Yegor Semenyuk (1:31.83)
4x200 freestyle relay — Artiom Volodin, Torren Vandersteen, Yegor Semenyuk, William Morin (7:23.13)
?? BRONZE
Augustin Boussion — 50 freestyle (22.91)
Augustin Boussion — 100 freestyle (50.55)
Artiom Volodin — 400 freestyle (3:51.72)
Artiom Volodin — 1500 freestyle (15:44.54)
Erik Linseisen — 200 breaststroke (2:17.30)
Erik Linseisen — 50 butterfly (24.38)
Riccardo Camuso — 100 butterfly (54.75)
4x50 medley relay (B team) — Tristan Govier, Alvin Song, Charles-Antoine Boucher, Riccardo Camuso (1:43.61)
================================================================================
SOURCE:
Earl Zukerman
Sports Information Officer
Athletics & Recreation
McGill University
CELL:
514-983-7012
E-MAIL:
earl.zukerman@mcgill.ca
