Canada's Masse finishes 4th in women's 100m backstroke at world swimming championships
Olympic medallists Masse, Ruck finish off the podium in women's 100m backstroke final
Canadian Olympic medallists Kylie Masse and Taylor Ruck finished off the podium in the women's 100-metre backstroke final at the World Aquatics Championships in Singapore on Tuesday.
Australia'a Kaylee McKeown won the race in a course record 57.16 seconds, while Americans Regan Smith (57.35) and Katherine Berkhoff (58.15) finished with silver and bronze, respectively.
McKeown is the two-time defending Olympic champion in this race and also in the 200 backstroke. She also beat Smith a year ago in Paris with Smith taking silver.
Masse, from LaSalle, Ont., was fourth (58.42) while Ruck, of Kelowna., B.C., was seventh (59.59).
Masse, 29, won this event at both the 2017 and 2019 world championships, and owner of nine world long-course medals.
"I really didn't know what to expect in the 100 just because I hadn't done much compared to what I was doing for the last quad. I was really surprised ]to make the team with a 58.18] at trials and was kind of hoping to build off of that coming into here," said Masse.
"But I really can't complain and I have to keep things in perspective with that tonight. To be fourth in the world and still be up there, competitive with the top and with those girls who I know are incredible swimmers, it's something that I'm really proud of."
Ruck, a three-time Olympian, was competing in her first international final in the event since finishing fourth in 2019.
Canada's Ilya Kharun qualified for the final of the men's 200m butterfly. The Montreal swimmer was second in his semifinal with a time of 1:54.43, which was the fifth-fastest time among the semifinal heats.
Kharun topped the podium in the same event during 2024 worlds in Budapest, also winning bronze in it at the 2024 Olympics in Paris.
"I can definitely go a lot quicker. My plan going into tonight was just to make it into the final. I hadn't really pushed myself until that final 50. It was all right, I've just got to be quicker tomorrow night," Kharun said.
Kharun bounced back from missing the 50m butterfly final by an agonizing 0.01 of a second to finish ninth on Monday.
"I was really made at myself and just mad at everything, but I just had to turn it around and think of it as more experience," Kharun said.
Watch live coverage of every race at the swimming worlds on CBCSports.ca and CBC Gem, with finals beginning at 7 a.m. ET each day. The full competition schedule is available here.
Fellow Canadian Ella Jansen failed to qualify for the women's 200m freestyle final with her performance in Tuesday's semifinal.
The 19-year-old swimmer finished fifth in her semifinal, but 11th overall, touching the wall in 1:57.60
"My goal has been to advance, whether that was a semi or a final, I just wanted to get a second swim at worlds. I've had a lot of trouble in the past swimming fast in the morning, so this morning was a really big step for me," said Jansen. "I knew that regardless of what happened tonight I was going to be proud of myself."
Jansen's teammate Mary-Sophie Harvey also did not advance to the final, finishing seventh in her semifinal in a time of 1:58.57.
Harvey, of Trois-Rivières, Que., won bronze in the 200m individual medley on Monday, sharing the podium with winner Summer McIntosh.
"I didn't really do any free warmup, there was a big question mark of if I was going to swim it tonight or not," said Harvey. "Sadly, it was just not there."
McIntosh, the superstar teen from Toronto, returns to the pool on Wednesday morning for the women's 200m butterfly semifinal.
The 19-year-old continues her drive for five gold medals at these world championships having already won the 400m freestyle on Sunday and 200m IM on Monday.
Legendary U.S. Olympian Michael Phelps is the only swimmer to have won five individual gold medals at a world championships.
Ledecky extends 1,500 freestyle dominance
Katie Ledecky delivered another masterclass in distance swimming to collect her sixth world title in the 1,500m freestyle on Tuesday, and while she was never threatened in the final she felt her rivals were helping her push the sport forward.
The American great has now won 22 world titles and her gold on Tuesday took her overall medal tally to 28, second only to compatriot Michael Phelps's 33.
WATCH | Ledecky conintues 1,500m domination:
Ledecky, who has won nine Olympic gold medals, was well under her own world record pace for much of the race at the Singapore Sports Hub but eased off in the last 200 meters to touch the wall in 15 minutes and 26.44 seconds.
That was more than five seconds clear of silver medallist Italian Simona Quadarella, whose time of 15:31.79 made her the second quickest swimmer in the event — though it is still slower than 11 of Ledecky's times.
"I just wanted to try to get out fast, but comfortable enough that I can build from there. Happy with the time, happy with the swim," Ledecky said.
"That was an awesome swim from Simona. Second fastest performer ever. The distance races are really quick right now. Just good to see how much we can push the sport forward. It's great to push the sport forward all together ...
"All the events in the distance freestyles are moving forward, both on the women's and men's side."
Australian Lani Pallister hung on Ledecky's hip for a good portion of the race but could not sustain the pace and finished as the bronze medallist.
"I kind of had a sense that I was probably out pretty fast, because Lani tends to take it out fast, and just having her right by my side for such a long portion really kept me on my toes and kept me moving forward," the 28-year-old added.
"I was hopeful that as I kind of extended, I was able to hold that pace. I wasn't quite sure where I was at."
Ledecky, who finished third behind McIntosh in the 400 on Sunday, is set to come up against the Canadian sensation again in the 800m later this week.
New IOC president watches from stands
Watching from the stands was new International Olympic Committee President Kirsty Coventry. She was joined by former president Thomas Bach. Coventry was an Olympic gold-medal winner for Zimbabwe in 2004 and 2008 in the 200-meter backstroke.
The Americans had the top qualifying times going into four finals and won one gold and three silver medals with very close finishes in all three.
The United States team have been battling what officials called "acute gastroenteritis" picked up at a training camp in Thailand before arriving in Singapore.
American head coach Greg Meehan said much of team had turned the corner.
"We're taking it a day at a time," he said in an interview with American network NBC. "Obviously, this is not how we thought the first few days of this competition would go. But I'm really proud of our team, our medical staff working overtime. You don't want your medical staff working overtime."
"If you were in our team area you would never know that the overall majority of the team has gone through something over the last few days," Meehan added, saying the team "vibe" was good.
McIntosh, who won two gold medals the first two days, did not race on Tuesday, Day 3 of the competition.
Paris Olympic champion David Popovici of Romania won the 200m freestyle, overtaking American Luke Hobson in the last 50 meters for the victory. Popovici swam 1:43.53 with Hobson across in 1:43.84. Tatsuya Murasa of Japan was third in 1:44.54.
"I think it was better than the Olympics to be honest," Popovici said of the victory. "You know why? Because I trained a lot for the Olympics. But this coming for a more relaxed year, easygoing year after the Olympics. I don't know. I feel very proud of myself."
Reporter Devin Heroux will be on site in Singapore speaking to Canadians following their races, and will join The Ready Room show live on YouTube every day after finals, with Brittany MacLean Campbell hosting from Toronto. The show will include Canadian highlights, athlete interviews and analysis.
Corrections
- An earlier version to this story stated Canadian Ella Jansen advanced to the women 's 200-metre freestyle final. In fact, Jansen failed to qualify.Jul 29, 2025 11:55 AM EDT
With files from Reuters and The Associated Press
