Canadian mixed relay team swims to bronze at aquatics worlds
Penny Oleksiak sets new Canadian record for 2nd-straight day in 50m butterfly
The Canadian quartet featuring Penny Oleksiak swam to bronze in the 4x100-metre mixed freestyle relay, while Kylie Masse, and Hilary Caldwell were also in the spotlight for Canada at the world aquatics championships in Budapest on Saturday.
Oleksiak, along with Yuri Kisil, Javier Acevedo, and Chantal Van Landeghem finished with a combined time of three minutes, 23.55 seconds to secure the third-place finish.
The U.S. won the race and set a world record in 3:19.60, followed by the Netherlands, who posted a time of 3:21.81.
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Acevedo, who didn't have much time to recover after competing in the 50m backstroke semis, knew he just needed to push through to help the team.
"It was pretty difficult, but I've done a lot of work in my training to be able to do that kind of stuff...I just had to work hard and get through it."
Oleksiak was also pleased with the outcome.
"I was just trying to get in the pool and race," she said. "It was super-hype."
In the first race of the day, Oleksiak eclipsed her own Canadian record and finished fifth with a time of 25.62 in the 50 butterfly.
This followed the Torontonian's performance in the semifinal on Friday in which the 17-year-old clocked 25.66 to top the record she had set in Barcelona in June.
Sweden's Sarah Sjostrom swam a championship record mark of 24.60 to win the race, Ranomi Kromowidjojo of the Netherlands was second with a time of 25.38, while Egypt's Farida Osman rounded out the podium in 25.39.
Caldwell, Masse just miss the mark
Later, Masse and Caldwell competed in the 200 backstroke, finishing fifth and sixth, respectively. Caldwell entered the final lap of the race in third place, but fell back and finished in 2:07.15. Masse, who captured gold in the 100 backstroke earlier this week, posted a time of 2:07.04.
Emily Seebohm of Australia won the race with a time of 2:05.68, Hungary's Katinka Hosszu was second in 2:05.85, and American Kathleen Baker placed third in 2:06.48
Masse admitted to being a bit tired, but was focused on the task at hand.
"I knew it was going to be super close, so I just really tried to hammer home the last 50 [metres]," said Masse, who also earned bronze in the 4x100 mixed medley relay on Wednesday.
Rachel Nicol will compete for Canada in the 50 breaststroke final on Sunday after an eighth-place finish in the semifinals.
Sjostrom shining for Sweden
Meanwhile, Canadians Michelle Toro and Sandrine Mainville were both unable to advance to the final of the 50 freestyle, while Acevedo also did not advance to the 50 backstroke final.
Sjostrom returned about an hour after her gold-medal performance to compete in the semifinals of the 50 freestyle and set a new world record of 23.67 in the process. The record (23.73) was previously held by Germany's Britta Steffen, who accomplished the feat in a rubber suit at the 2009 worlds in Rome.
Ledecky picks up 5th gold, Dressel sets record
Caeleb Dressel became the first swimmer to win three gold medals on a single night at the world championships.
America's newest star turned in a stunning performance, racing three times over the course of about two hours — and winning every time.
He started with a victory in the 50 freestyle, came back about a half-hour later to nearly break Michael Phelps' world record in the 100 butterfly and closed the night by leading off a world-record performance in the mixed 4x100 free relay.
In addition, Katie Ledecky made it five gold medals in her final event of the world championships, cruising to victory in the 800 freestyle.
The American wasn't seriously challenged but finished far off her world record with a time of 8:12.68. She won gold at last year's Olympics in 8:04.79.
With files from The Associated Press