For the first time in four world championships, Canada’s Kylie Masse failed to reach the podium in the women’s 100-metre backstroke.
The 2017 and 2019 world champion finished fourth in 59.09 seconds on Tuesday in Fukuoka, Japan.
Australian Kaylee McKeown won the gold medal in a world-championship record time of 57.53. Two Americans completed the podium as Regan Smith touched the wall in 57.78 for a silver medal, while Katharine Berkoff earned bronze in 58.25.
Calgary swimmer Ingrid Wilm was fifth in 59.31.
Masse, from LaSalle, Ont., was attempting to become only the second Canadian swimmer to win a medal in fourth consecutive world championships, which would’ve matched swimming great Ryan Cochrane.
WATCH | Masse places 4th in 100m backstroke:
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Devin Heroux spoke with Canadian Kylie Masse after her 4th place finish in the women’s 100m backstroke at the world aquatic championships.
She will be competing in Wednesday’s 50 backstroke event and likely some relay events later this week.
The live stream will be available at CBCSports.ca, the CBC Sports app and CBC Gem.
The 27-year-old Masse had the leaders in sight with 50 metres to go, but she couldn’t catch Berkoff for bronze.
It’s been a tough season for Masse with her preparation as she dealt with visa problems in a move to Spain. But she still has hopes for better results at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
“A little bit disappointed.” Masse told CBC Sports reporter Devin Heroux. “I know I’m capable of a lot more than [59.09]. The 100 didn’t come together this season. Now the next year is the big one [Olympic Games].
McKeown, the Olympic champion, won her first world title in the 100 backstroke.
WATCH: McKeown captures gold:
Kaylee McKeown wins the women’s 100m backstroke at the world aquatics championship in a time of 57.53. Canada’s Kylie Masse finished 4th and Ingrid Wilm was 5th.
McIntosh qualifies for women’s 200m freestyle
Summer McIntosh continues to show she’s over the disappointment of missing the podium in the 400m freestyle on Sunday.
McIntosh qualified for Wednesday’s women’s 200m freestyle final (7:17 a.m. ET), winning her semifinal heat in one minute 54.67 seconds.
She finished second overall, behind Australian Ariarne Titmus (1:54.64), who captured the 400m title by breaking Mcintosh’s world record.
The 16-year-old Toronto swimmer owns the world junior record in the 200 freestyle.
WATCH | McIntosh into women’s 200m freestyle final:
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Canada’s Summer McIntosh easily qualifies for the women’s 200m freestyle final with a time of 1.54:67. The final will take place Wednesday.
Another Canadian qualified for a final on Wednesday morning (7:53 a.m. ET).
Ilya Kharun, from Montreal, placed third overall in the semifinals of the men’s 200m butterfly.
Kharun, 18, finished in a Canadian-record time of 1:54.28, behind leader American Carson Foster (1:53.85) and French swimmer Leon Marchand (1:54.21).
WATCH | Kharun makes Canadian swimming history in Japan:
Montreal’s Ilya Kharun establishes a new Canadian record in the men’s 200m butterfly (1:54.28) semifinal at the world aquatic championships in Japan
In water polo, Croatia beat the Canadian men 13-5 in the 9-12 classification round.
Ledecky grabs 5th world title in 1,500m
Katie Ledecky of the United States eased to her 20th career gold medal at worlds, powering to a fifth women’s 1,500 freestyle title.
The seven-time Olympic champion Ledecky went into the race as the firm favourite going over 13 seconds quicker than her closest opponetn, Italy’s Simona Quadarella, in the heats and was under her world record time after a blistering start to the final.
But Ledecky’s pace dropped slightly after she took a huge lead and the 26-year-old touched the pad in 15 minutes 26.27 seconds to finish 17.04 seconds faster than Quadarella who settled for silver while China’s Li Bingjie took bronze.
It was the perfect response for Ledecky, who was dethroned and left disappointed by the record-breaking Ariarne Titmus in Sunday’s 400 freestyle.
“I feel good. It hurt a lot but I’m really happy with the outcome. I’m just having a lot of fun this week,” Ledecky said after setting the third-best time in history.
“It’s just a lot of hard work and really great people around me — my coaches since I started swimming since I was six and my really great teammates.”
WATCH | Full coverage of Tuesday’s events from Fukuoka:
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Watch the best swimmers on the planet compete at the World Aquatics Championships in Fukuoka, Japan.
‘Open category’ to be added for transgender swimmers
Swimming will set up an “open category” that will include transgender competitors, the governing body of the sport said Tuesday.
World Aquatics president Husain Al-Musallam said the event would take place in the future among other races but gave no details. Reports suggest it could be this year.
“This is a very complex topic,” Al-Musallam said at the World Aquatics Congress in the southwestern Japanese city of Fukuoka. “But I am delighted to tell you today that we are now making plans for the first trial of an open category, and we hope to be able to confirm all the details soon.
“Our sport must be open to everybody,” he said.
World Aquatics had previously banned transgender competitors from major events like the Olympics and world championships.
The topic has been divisive and many governing bodies in major sports have avoided it. And there will be many questions to answer as the first trial event unfolds under the eyes of lawyers and scientists.
“It was very important that we protected fair competition for our female athletes,” Al-Musallam said. “But you have heard me say many times there should be no discrimination. Nobody should be excluded from our competitions.”
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