Teen sensation McIntosh, Canadian women's relay team win silver on opening day of aquatics worlds
Penny Oleksiak anchors Canada to silver in women's 4x100m freestyle relay
Summer McIntosh began the FINA world aquatics championships in the best way possible – with a medal around her neck.
The 15-year-old from Toronto swam to the silver medal in the women's 400-metre freestyle at the Duna Arena in Budapest, Hungary on Saturday.
McIntosh swam the race in three minutes, 59.39 seconds, finishing only behind American Katie Ledecky, who touched the wall in 3:58.15. Leah Smith of the U.S. captured the bronze medal with a time of 4:02.08. With the result, the Canadian becomes one of four women to ever swim the event in under four minutes.
WATCH | 15-year-old McIntosh swims to world championship silver:
"I just wanted to have fun and race and push and hang on with [the] others," McIntosh said.
McIntosh burst onto the global stage last summer with a fourth-place finish in the 400m freestyle at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games and has continued her top form. She broke her Canadian record in March, swimming the third-fastest time ever in the 400m individual medley (IM) during an invitational trials prep event.
The native of Toronto, Ont. isn't done at the world championships either, as she is also set to race in the 200m butterfly and the 400 IM.
WATCH | Why Summer McIntosh's performance is a big deal:
Canadian women's 4x100m wins silver
Canada's women's 4x100m relay team ended the first day of competition in Budapest with a silver medal, as the team of Maggie Mac Neil, Taylor Ruck, Penny Oleksiak, and Kayla Sanchez swam to a time of 3:31.15, finishing 1.2 seconds behind Australia, and ahead of the Americans who clocked in 1.63 seconds behind.
WATCH | Penny Oleksiak drives Canada to silver:
Canada looked to be in the bronze medal position for much of the race, but a strong anchor leg from six-time Olympic medallist Penny Oleksiak pushed the Canadians to second down the final stretch.
Continuing to be a force on the world stage, Canada earned the same medal in the event as they did at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, with the same nations finishing ahead and behind them on the podium.
Mary-Sophie Harvey qualifies for 200m IM final
The 22-year-old is a four-time Pan-Am Games medallist but has yet to win an Olympic or world championship medal. With a fourth-place finish in the heats, Harvey will be in contention for a medal when she races at 1:27 p.m. ET on Sunday.
Canadian men's 4x100m relay finishes sixth
The Canadian men's 4x100m relay team, led by Josh Liendo, couldn't quite swim their way onto the podium. But, after a strong start where they stayed in contention, the team of Liendo, Yuri Kisil, Ruslan Gaziev and Javier Acevedo slid back in the final lengths, finishing in sixth with a time of 3:11.99.
The U.S. won the gold medal with a time of 3:09.34, as the Australians finished second at 3:10.86, and Italy in third with a time of 3:10.95.
Audrey Lamothe swims to top-10
Montreal's Audrey Lamothe took to the outdoor pool at her first world championships in Budapest, finishing 10th in the women's solo technical artistic swimming competition. The 17-year-old from Montreal finished with a score of 83.0909.
WATCH | Lamothe finishes top 10 in the artistic solo technical final:
Japan's Yukiko Inui captured the gold with a score of 92.8662. Ukrainian Marta Fiedna picked up the silver medal, while Greece's Evangelia Platanioto won the bronze.
Looking ahead to Day 2
The Canadian team has a lot to look forward to at the Duna Arena in Budapest, with Harvey racing the 200m (IM) final on Sunday and medals also awarded in the men's 100m breaststroke, women's 100m butterfly, and men's 50m butterfly.
CBC Sports is the home to the FINA World Aquatics Championships, streaming live on cbcsports.ca from June 18-July 3.
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