BUDAPEST, Hungary — Summer McIntosh set a world junior record in the 200-metre butterfly while Kylie Masse set herself up for a Canadian-record seventh career medal Tuesday at the world aquatics championships.
The 15-year-old McIntosh, from Toronto, finished first in the 200 butterfly semifinals in two minutes 5.79 seconds, eclipsing the previous record of 2:06.29 set by Japan’s Suzuka Hasegawa in 2017.
McIntosh's time also set a new national record, and is the fastest time in the event this year.
‘"I didn’t expect to go 2:05 tonight,’’ McIntosh said. "But as soon as I stepped out with all the energy and excitement from the crowd, I just fed off that. I got a lot of adrenalin and motivation and put it down tonight."
McIntosh, who won silver in the 400-metre freestyle on Saturday, will race for her second medal at the world championships on Wednesday.
Americans Hali Flickinger (2:05.90) and Regan Smith (2:07.13) rounded out the top-three times in the semifinals.
Masse also finished first in her 50-metre backstroke semifinal, finishing in a time of 27.22 seconds.
The native of LaSalle, Ont., won silver in the women's 100-metre backstroke on Monday to give her six career long-course world championship medals, tied with Penny Oleksiak for most by a Canadian.
‘’It’s such a process and a step-by-step in order to perform, recover properly and set yourself up for the next day," said Masse, who will race for the national record-breaking medal on Wednesday.
‘"I think just over the last couple of years I’ve learned how to hone in on what I need to do, minimize the distractions and minimize the energy that I’m spending on other things so that I can perform to the best of my ability the next day."
Analia Pigree of France and Regan Smith of the U.S. tied for second in the semifinals at 27.29 seconds, while Ingrid Wilm of Calgary ranked fourth in a personal-best 27.39.
Josh Liendo of Markham, Ont., will also swim for a medal Wednesday after qualifying forth for the final of the men's 100-metre freestyle in 48.16 seconds.
In Tuesday's 200-metre freestyle final, Taylor Ruck of Kelowna, B.C., tied for sixth in 1:57.24 with France’s Charlotte Bonney.
Junxuan Wang of China won the gold medal in 1:54.92, Mollie O’Callaghan of Australia was second in 1:55.22 and Muhan Tang of China third in 1:56.25.
The Canadian men's water polo team opened with a 19-2 loss Tuesday to Spain.
Montreal's Reuel D'Souza and Nicolas Constantin-Bicari of Repentigny, Que., scored for Canada.
The women's team faces Columbia on Wednesday after tying 7-7 with Italy to start the championship.
Canada's artistic swim team ranked eighth after the technical routine Tuesday. They'll swim their preliminary free routine Wednesday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 21, 2022.
The Canadian Press
