Masse breaks Canadian record in victorious 200m backstroke at ISL playoff match
Canada's Summer McIntosh, Sydney Pickrem also post wins in the Netherlands
Kylie Masse broke a Canadian short-course record with her victorious swim in the women's 200-metre backstroke at the second playoff match of the International Swimming League on Saturday.
The two-time world champion — who recently took home a medal haul of two individual silvers and relay bronze at the Tokyo Olympics — touched the wall in a time of two minutes 1.45 seconds.
The short-course record had previously been set by Canada's Taylor Ruck — a mark of 2:01.66 in 2017.
Masse's hot time earned her the jackpot, stealing points for her Toronto Titans team from three swimmers in the event.
WATCH | Masse grabs victory in 200-metre backstroke:
Fellow Canadian Ingrid Wilm, with LA Current, was able to stay clear of that penalty with a strong fourth-place swim of 2:03.49.
But as the first day of the playoff match ended, neither team was atop the leaderboard.
London Roar leads the standings heading into day two with 280.5 points, while LA Current and Toronto Titans are in the second and third spots, respectively, with 246 and 231.5 points. Aqua Centurions are in fourth with 138 points.
Action continues on Sunday.
Canada's McIntosh, Pickrem emerge with wins
Masse, 25, from LaSalle, Ont., also swam to third in the women's 50-metre backstroke in 26.21, with Wilm of Calgary right behind her in fourth place (26.38.)
The Canadians appeared again in the women's 4x100-metre medley relay, with Masse's crew ending in second-place (3:48.85) and Wilm's squad grabbing third (3:51.63.) Canada's Kelsey Wog, swimming with the second Toronto Titans team in the event, came seventh (3:56.88.)
But Masse wasn't the only Canadian to post wins in Eindhoven, Netherlands, on Saturday — fellow Canadian Olympians Summer McIntosh and Sydney Pickrem also earned crucial victories for their teams.
Swimming for the Toronto Titans, McIntosh yet again won the women's 400-metre freestyle in a time of 3:59.30. The 15-year-old was just short of her own recently-set Canadian record of 3:58.78, but was able to jackpot other competitors for a 16-point takeaway.
WATCH | McIntosh swims to 1st in 400-metre freestyle:
Meanwhile, London Roar's Pickrem won the women's 200-metre individual medley for the second time this season in 2:06.46 — and stole points from the swimmer in eighth to boot.
Another great result in that event was fellow Canadian Tessa Cieplucha, who finished third in 2:07.79. Her Toronto Titans teammate Kayla Sanchez was in fifth in 2:08.83.
WATCH | Halifax's Pickrem wins 200-metre individual medley:
Cieplucha had another third-place finish in the women's 200-metre breastroke, ending in 2:21.66 — just 0.03 seconds behind second place. Wog, who resides in Winnipeg, came sixth in that event for the Titans (2:22.35.)
Wog also swam in the 50-metre breastroke, ending seventh in 31.33, with her points stolen through a jackpot.
Canadian men in the pool
In the men's events, Canada's Javier Acevedo had a strong showing, nearly taking the win with his LA Current team in the men's 4x100 medley relay.
Swimming breastroke, the 23-year-old of Scarborough, Ont., finished in a collective 3:23.61. But his team couldn't hold off London Roar, who caught up and touched ahead of them in 23.58.
He also came fourth in the men's 200-metre backstroke with a swim of 1:52.78. But in the pool was LA current teammate American Ryan Murphy, who finished in 1:48.43 — a blistering time, which although jackpotted his potential points, kept them within the team.
Acevedo also placed sixth in the men's 50-metre breastroke with a time of 27.10, but also had his points stolen by the speedy-first placer.
Canada's Yuri Kisil came sixth in the men's 50-metre freestyle, clocking a time of 21.54 in a tight-knit race.
WATCH | ISL's second playoff match in the Netherlands:
