Canadian swimmers shatter national record with 9th medal at worlds
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Canadian swimmers set a new national record for podium appearances at one world championships, with two more medals added on Friday.
Josh Liendo, 19, was the center of it all.
After capturing individual bronze in the men’s 100-metre butterfly, Liendo led off the 4×100 mixed freestyle relay team that won silver, giving Canada its ninth medal (two gold, four silver, three bronze) in Budapest, Hungary.
“This helps to put into context how great a team it is.” saidJohn Atkinson, Swimming Canada’s Director, High Performance, and National Coach. “And how the coaches, the athletes, and the staff support each other in achieving the best performance for their team.”
Penny Oleksiak, already Canada’s most decorated Olympian ever, also matched the country’s individual record at worlds with her eighth career podium appearance after racing the anchor leg of the relay. The total ties Ryan Cochrane, who competed at worlds five times.
“I honestly didn’t know that,” said Oleksiak. “It’s a privilege to be a part of this team. It’s amazing to be a part and accomplish such amazing things.
All eight medals won by the Toronto native (two silver and six bronze) were awarded in relays. She once again proved her prowess.
Oleksiak anchors Canada for silver medal| Oleksiak anchors Canada to silver medal:
Penny Oleksiak and Kayla Sanchez, Javier Acevedo, Josh Liendo won a silver medal in 4x100m mixed freestyle relay. This gave Canada its ninth medal (two silver, four silver, and three bronze) at FINA 2022 world championships in Budapest. Canada’s previous record of eight gold medals (two bronze, six silver) was set at 2019 worlds.
After Liendo got the Canadians off to a third-place start, Javier Acevedo and Kayla Sanchez ensured the team stayed there for its closer in the non-Olympic event.
Liendo: “The relay was my highlight,” saidHis third final of the day. “The atmosphere and how girls swam the back. I did my best, even though I was tired. But it paid off as the other swimmers did an amazing job. It was a great night.
Oleksiak, 22, provided her trademark finishing kick, overtaking American counterpart Claire Curzan to push Canada into the silver medal with a national-record time of three minutes 20.61 seconds.
“I just had faith in the back half my race.” said Oleksiak. “For a while I worked on the front, but almost neglected the back. Recently, I have it back in motion. I just tried to get us up as fast and as quickly as possible.”
Australia won gold in a world record time of 3:09.38, while the United States took bronze at 3:21.09.
WATCH | Relay team on record-setting race:
Watch Canada’s Penny Oleksiak (Canada), Kayla Sanchez and Josh Liendo interview after winning silver at Budapest.
Liendo also won bronze in 100 butterfly. He will be standing on his third podium.
On his way to his bronze medal, he took a page from Oleksiak’s book. The Markham, Ont. native finished fourth at the 50-metre mark, but saved his best for final.
His split time in the back half of the race only trailed gold medallist Kristof Milak of Hungary and silver medallist Naoki Mizunuma of Japan.
Liendo’s time in 50.97 seconds was three hundredths faster than Mizunuma’s. Milak dominated the entire race and flirted with the world record before winning gold in 50.14 seconds.
“I was fighting through all my races but the 100 fly felt pretty good,” said Liendo. Liendo.
WATCH: Liendo smolders in bronze in 100m butterfly| Liendo bursts to bronze in 100m butterfly:
Josh Liendo, Markham, Ont., won bronze at the FINA World Championships in Budapest in the men’s 100 metre butterfly on Friday. This just two days after he took bronze in his 100 metre freestyle.
Just over 30 minutes before the 100 butterfly, Liendo missed out on another potential medal by just 0.04 seconds, placing fifth in the 50 freestyle.
The Canadian qualified third fastest at 21.73 seconds and improved to 21.61 seconds during the final.
Yet he was left on the outside looking in, as Benjamin Proud of the U.K. won gold in 21.32 seconds, American Michael Andrew scored silver in 21.41 seconds and France’s Maxime Grousset snuck into the bronze-medal position at 21.57 seconds.
Canada could extend its medal record on the final day of swimming competition Saturday when 15-year-old Summer McIntosh, who already has a medal of each colour, swims the women’s 400 individual medley while Canada’s men’s and women’s 4×100 medley relay teams compete as well.
Live coverage starts at 12:05 p.m. ET on CBCSports.ca. Also, the CBC Sports app.
Masse falls short
Kylie Masse failed to win a third medal in Hungary, which would have tied her with Oleksiak who has eight in her career.
Masse, who won silver in the 200 backstroke at the Tokyo Olympics, placed fifth in the discipline and well off the podium in a time of two minutes eight seconds.
The 26-year old from LaSalle, Ont. started among the leaders and touched after the 50 meters in third place. She slowed down from there and fell to fifth during the final length of the pool.
“I was just focusing to beat my times from prelims and semis.” said Masse. “What everyone else does is beyond my control. I was trying to focus on myself and put together a great race. I certainly died a little at the end. I think that’s a matter a long week and just trying manage it all.
Australia’s Kaylee McKeown won gold in 2:05.08, while Americans Phoebe Bacon and Rhyan White took silver and bronze in 2:05.12 and 2:06.96, respectively.
It’ll still go down as a successful worlds for Masse, who won her first career gold medal in the 50 backstroke and took silver in the 100 backstroke.
WATCH: Lane 4’s significance| The significance of Lane 4:
Athletes are assigned different lanes for a swim final. Knowing where they are placed can help you determine who is better than who. Jacqueline Doorey explains.
Alvarez out from competition
American artist swimmer Anita Alvarez was saved by her coach on Thursday and did not participate in Friday’s team event.
FINA is the sport’s governing organization. said “she should not compete” in light of the incident.
“Athletes safety and health must always come first.” While FINA understands why this decision will have been disappointing to the athlete, it was a decision that was made with her best interests in mind.”
The American team doctor was saidShe was “very confident” Alvarez would be OK to compete.
WATCH: Swimmer saved by U.S. Coach after fainting in the pool| Swimmer saved by U.S. coach after fainting in pool:
Coach Andrea Fuentes dived in to help Anita Alvarez, an American artist swimmer, who had fallen asleep during her performance and fell to the bottom.
The Canadian men’s waterpolo team was removed from the tournament due to multiple positive COVID-19 testing.
The team could play in the seeding brackets again on Monday, provided there are no further positive tests or that the isolation period for affected athletes has been completed.
Canada’s women’s waterpolo team lost an 11-7 decision against Olympic bronze medallist Hungary on Friday, to fall to 1-1-1
Hayley McKelvey from North Delta, B.C. had three goals and Montreal’s Axelle Crvier scored twice. Verica Bakoc and Kyra Christ of High River, Alta. contributed single goals.
Canada’s women will face the Netherlands in a round-16 match on Sunday.
For more stories about the experiences of Black Canadians — from anti-Black racism to success stories within the Black community — check out Being Black in Canada, a CBC project Black Canadians can be proud of. You can readYou can find more stories here.
Source: CBC News
