SINGAPORE—As the swimming world championships enter the final weekend, Canada is running out of medal chances, but it’s not over yet.
Blake Tierney finished fourth in the 200-metre backstroke Friday and, in a week where he set some new Canadian records, it was a promising performance but not quite enough. The best non-Summer McIntosh chances left are familiar: Josh Liendo and Ilya Kharun.
The 22-year-old Liendo qualified with the second-fastest time in the 100-metre butterfly Friday thanks to a monster second 50. His time of 50.24 seconds was just behind Swiss swimmer Noe Ponti’s 50.18. Kharun, who has had a disappointing week, qualified fourth in 50.39. Both will hope to repeat their podium showing from the Paris Olympics, where Liendo won silver in this event and Kharun bronze.
“I didn’t think I was that close at the end. I thought he was a little bit out. But that shows I’m closing well, then, and just got to not be afraid to send it tomorrow,†said Liendo, who was sixth in his heat at the turn.
“Almost on my best time, but I just got to be a little bit quicker tomorrow,†said the 20-year-old Kharun, who barely missed the 50-metre butterfly final and finished fourth in the 200. He has said he is not quite in the condition he’d like to be in. Liendo struggled with an extended illness earlier this year and, while he has had a good week here, winning bronze in the 4x100 mixed medley relay, he was much slower than his best time in the 50-metre freestyle Friday morning, and said he was oddly short of breath.
ÎÚÑ»´«Ã½ phenom wins 200-metre butterfly, the same event her mother swam at in the 1984 Olympics.
ÎÚÑ»´«Ã½ phenom wins 200-metre butterfly, the same event her mother swam at in the 1984 Olympics.
Tierney, meanwhile, set a Canadian 200 backstroke record of 1:55.03 in the semifinals, and swam 1:55.09 in the final. At 23, he says this was a good building block toward the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028.
“I mean, this is my first time ever making a semi, let alone a final in the 200 back,†Tierney said. “So I think the plan was really just to treat each race like it was my only swim, and if I didn’t make a semi or final, be able to walk away with my head high. So I think it was a little more taxing than maybe some of the other guys who maybe cruised some of the mornings. But, you know, like three 1:55s, I’m pretty happy with that. My best performance was 1:56, 1:57.â€
McIntosh, of course, is almost a one-person team in the medal table, and the drive for five remains alive. Mary-Sophie Harvey and the mixed medley relay team have bronzes here, as well. Liendo and Kharun will see what they have to give Saturday.
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