MASTER STROKE
Canadian Masse takes aim at world mark after national record in backstroke semis,
BUDAPEST, HUNGARY— Canadian Kylie Masse broke the Canadian record — and almost the world mark — in Monday’s 100-metre backstroke semifinals at the world aquatics championships.
The LaSalle, Ont., swimmer qualified fastest for Tuesday’s final with a time of 58.18 seconds, just six-hundredths of a second off the world standard.
“Every opportunity I get to race I give it my all, because you never know,” said Masse, an Olympic bronze medallist in the event in Rio. “I think it didn’t matter if it was prelims, semis or finals, I was just going to try my best. That’s really all I had in mind.”
Kierra Smith of Kelowna, B.C., also qualified for the final, tied for sixth-fastest.
In 100-metre butterfly race for the medals, Toronto’s Penny Oleksiak wound up fourth in 56.94 seconds, almost a second and a half behind winner Sarah Sjostrom of Sweden.
“Sarah’s definitely someone I really look up to, and I always study her races to see what she does and how I can improve,” said the 17-year-old Oleksiak, an Olympic silver medallist in the discipline in Rio.
“I think she’s also a really good person, so she’s someone I want to be like when I’m older and I’m trying to be like her.”
Hungary’s Iron Lady, Katinka Hosszu was the star of the show on day two of the swim competition.
Hosszu lived up to enormous ex- pectations with an electrifying victory in the 200-metre individual medley, spurred on by a flag-waving, foot-stomping crowd at Duna Arena. The new 12,000-seat aquatic facility along the Danube was packed all the way to the rafters, and it was clear who most of the fans came to see. Hosszu didn’t let them down.
She led from start to finish in the race encompassing all four swimming strokes, finishing off with the freestyle and a time of two minutes, seven seconds. It was nearly a second slower than her world-record performance at the Rio Olympics last summer but enough to hold off hardcharging Yui Ohashi of Japan, who settled for silver in 2:07.91.
The bronze went to Madisyn Cox of the U.S., just ahead of teammate Melanie Margolis.
Canada’s Sydney Pickrem was unable to finish the race after the first turn. Swimming Canada said Pickrem had to leave after she “took on water.”
After touching the wall, Hosszu pounded the water, stuck out her tongue and climbed atop a lane rope to acknowledge the raucous crowd. Her husband and coach, Shane Tusup, pumped his fists and led out a guttural scream.
Hosszu popped out of the water and ran around the deck to embrace Tusup, who handed her a red cap emblazoned with the nickname she received a few years ago for her gruelling repertoire of events: Iron Lady.