Canada qualifies for mixed 4x100m freestyle relay final at World Aquatics Championships
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Canada booked a spot in the mixed 4x100-metre freestyle relay final at the World Aquatics Championships on Saturday in Fukuoka, Japan.
Ruslan Gaziev, Javier Acevedo, Mary-Sophie Harvey and Taylor Ruck finished second in their heat with a time of three minutes 24.63 seconds, the fifth-fastest among the eight qualifiers.
The reigning champion Australians clocked the fastest time (3:21.88), followed by the United States (3:23.85) and Italy (3:24.39).
Gaziev swam the leadoff leg and gave Canada the early lead in the fourth of five heats. Acevedo and Harvey also touched the wall first, but Great Britain began to close the gap and Freya Anderson overtook Ruck in the final moments of the anchor leg.
Acevedo helped Canada claim silver in the event at last year's worlds in Budapest, with Josh Liendo swimming the opening leg of the final. But two of the other athletes from that team are out this year as Penny Oleksiak continues her recovery from knee surgery and Kayla Sanchez now competes for the Philippines.
WATCH | Replay of Day 7 swimming prelims:
The seventh day of swimming competition at the Marine Messe Fukuoka also saw Canadians competing in individual events.
Acevedo missed the cut for the semifinals in the men's 50m backstroke, finishing seventh in his heat with a time of 25.18, the 19th-fastest out of 64 competitors. The top 16 qualified.
Fellow Canadians Sophie Angus and Hanna Henderson also failed to reach the semifinals in their respective events. Henderson finished sixth in her women's 50m freestyle heat, 36th overall (25.71), while Angus placed seventh in her women's 50m backstroke heat with the 22nd-fastest overall time (31.01).
Two Canadians will compete for individual medals during the upcoming evening session in Fukuoka.
Liendo will go for gold in the men's 100m butterfly final on Saturday at 7:42 a.m. ET, followed by Kylie Masse in the women's 200m backstroke final at 7:57 a.m. ET.
Liendo won his semifinal heat on Day 6 in a time of 50.75 seconds. The Markham, Ont., native won bronze in the event at last year's worlds and is the reigning Commonwealth Games champion in the distance.
Masse won silver in the 200m backstroke at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021. The 27-year-old fell just short of the 100m backstroke podium in Fukuoka with a fourth-place finish in the final on Day 3.
WATCH | Liendo wins 100m butterfly semifinal heat:
