Canada’s Masse back on top of world
More controversy for Chinese star accused of doping
A year out from the 2020 Olympic Summer Games in Japan, Canada’s Kylie Masse is back on top of the world.
The 23-year-old Masse made it back-to-back titles in the women’s 100-metre backstroke on Tuesday at the 18th FINA World Championships in Gwangju, South Korea.
“The time wasn’t exactly what I wanted and not what I felt I had been working at, but that will come,” Masse, a Lasalle, Ont. native, said after the gold-medal performance. “It’s secondary to having the gold medal and defending my title.”
A product of the Windsor Essex Swim Team, Masse had the top time in the preliminaries at 58.91 seconds and the best time in the semifinals at 58.50, but was looking for more in the final.
“After the preliminaries and semis, I was happy with my progression, but there were a few things I wanted to fix,” said Masse, who swam in Lane 4. “My first 50 (metres), I always try to stay controlled. I wanted to come off that turn (at 50 metres) with speed and momentum that I could carry over the final 25 (metres).”
Canadian teammate Taylor Ruck, who was next to Masse in Lane 3, actually led at the turn, but Masse roared past the field over the final 25 metres to win in 58.60, a quarter of a second better than Australian Minna Atherton, who took the silver medal in 58.85.
“I always think I’m strong in the final 25 (metres), but I wanted to emphasize the third 25 metres (out of the turn),” Masse said.
“For me, it’s important to stay in my lane and focus on my race strategy. In backstroke, I can’t see (the opposition), so it’s hard to see where I was in the race until the end.
“I feel I’ve been doing backstroke long enough that I can’t tell where I am. You can tell by the splashes beside you and the wake.”
American Olivia Smoliga was third in 58.91 seconds and Ruck placed fourth in 58.96. Kathleen Baker of the U.S., who broke Masse’s world record time of 58.10 a year ago, finished in sixth place in 59.56. That was well off her world-record time of 58.00.
“I definitely think I felt the pressure of defending it and I wanted it,” said Masse, a University of Toronto grad.
“I was definitely nervous, but I think it’s good to be nervous and to try and channel those nerves and energy.”
Out of the pool, there was more podium drama as British bronze medallist Duncan Scott refused to shake hands with Sun Yang after the Chinese swimmer’s victory in the men’s 200-metre freestyle.
With unwell American Katie Ledecky sitting out the 200 freestyle heats in the morning and later confirming she would skip her title defence in the 1,500m, Tuesday’s calm early session gave no indication of the fireworks to come.
Sun, who is swimming under a cloud in Gwangju with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) set to hear a doping case against him in September, came home second in the 200 but got the win when Lithuanian Danas Rapsys was disqualified for a false start.
At the medal ceremony, Scott shook hands with fellow bronze medallist Martin Malyutin of Russia, who finished with the same time as the Briton, but then gave Sun the cold shoulder.
Sun was livid, yelling and gesturing at the 22-year-old Scott, and later confronting him as the medallists walked off the podium.
“You loser, I’m winning, yes,” he spat at the Glasgow-born Scott, who ignored the taunt and kept walking. The incident came after Australian Mack Horton refused to share the podium with Sun after the Chinese swimmer won the 400 freestyle on Sunday.
Sun, who served a doping ban in 2014 and was labelled a “drug cheat” by Horton before the 2016 Rio Olympics final, got the green light to compete in Gwangju after being cleared by FINA of breaching the governing body’s rules earlier this year.
However, the World Anti-doping Agency is seeking to overturn the decision, leaving Sun’s career hanging in the balance a year out from the Tokyo Olympics.
American Lilly King won the 100m breaststroke on Tuesday, defeating her Russian rival Yuliya Efimova, who served a 16-month doping ban in 2013.