For Canadian swimming currently, there is Olympic medallist Ryan Cochrane of Victoria, world champion Brent Hayden of Mission, and the rest.

And Hayden has a way of getting to the point.

He didn’t hesitate when asked about his aspirations this year for the 2010 Pan Pacific swim championships next month in Irvine, Calif., and 2010 Commonwealth Games in October at Delhi.

“Gold would be nice. That’s always the ultimate goal,” said Hayden.

He got a start toward that by winning the men’s 100-metre freestyle in 49.19 seconds last night at a jammed Saanich Commonwealth Place.

Hayden and Claremont-grad Cochrane are among more than 500 of Canada’s best swimmers here for the national championships and Pan Pacific trials running through tomorrow. The results from the Pan Pacs will decide the Canadian team for the Commonwealth Games. A team of 52 will be selected for Irvine, from which 28 will go on to Delhi.

The prelims start at 10 a.m. both days at Commonwealth Place with finals at 6 p.m.

Hayden, of all the world-class swimmers now locking their gaze upon the 2012 London Summer Olympics, has something to prove. He shared the gold medal in the 100-metre freestyle — a marquee event on par in swimming with the men’s 100 metres in track and field — at the 2007 world championships. But Hayden’s drop to 11th place at the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics was as stunning as it was precipitous.

“I’ve dealt with it,” he said firmly.

“If I learned anything from that, it’s not the best swimmer that wins but the best swimmer on the day. And it was not necessarily my day at Beijing.”

He still has 2012, and maybe even Rio 2106.

“I will have to see what my financial situation is if I want to continue on to Rio,” said the 26-year-old. “You can’t keep this up without proper support.”

Another national team veteran, Brian Johns, won the men’s 400-metre IM in a pool he knows well.

“Commonwealth Place is like a second home to me,” said the Vancouver swimmer. “I made my first national team here and set my [short-course] world record here as well [in 2003].”

A potent Island Swimming team, led by Pan Pacs-bound Cochrane and Stefan Hirniak, used home-pool advantage in winning the men’s 4x200 freestyle relay in 7:23.25. Island swimming was second in the women's 4x200 free relay behind Australia ‘A.’

Olympian Julia Wilkinson of Island swimming won the women’s 50-metre backstroke in 28.92 seconds.

Meanwhile, on a night in which Swimming Canada held retirement ceremonies for three-time Olympian Rick Say of Victoria and Victoria-born Olympian and world championships medallist Brittany Reimer, a couple of national team newcomers made their own waves with Tianna Rissling of Medicine Hat, Alta., and Warren Barnes of Pickering, Ont., who swims in the NCAA for Pitt, winning spots on Team Canada to the Pan Pacs.

“It’s the best feeling in the world. I’ve wanted this for so long,” said Barnes, after winning the men’s 100-metre breaststroke.

Rissling won the women’s 100-metre breaststroke to stamp her ticket as a rookie national team member.

The other side of the ever-turning wheel was represented by Olympic finalist Say, who never left anything on the deck but expended it all in the pool.

“Rick was really influential to the generation of Canadian freestylers who were coming up after him,” said Hayden. “He was always in the captain’s role and a tremendous leader.”

Say won’t roam far from Saanich Commonwealth Place and is going into coaching.

“The only thing that stopped me from shedding a tear tonight is that I’m not going away from this place,” said Say. “I’ll still in swimming, but only in a different capacity and different phase of my life.”

cdheensaw@tc.canwest.com