DOHA, Qatar - Canada's women's 4x100-metre freestyle relay team earned the country's first swimming medal of this year's world aquatics championships bronze on Sunday with a bronze.
The quartet of Rebecca Smith, Sarah Fournier, Katerine Savard and Taylor Ruck finished with a time of three minutes 37.95 seconds.
Ruck jumped in the water with Canada sitting fifth and charged down competitors from Poland and Italy to earn the medal for Canada. The Netherlands won in 3:36.61, followed by Australia in 3:36.93.
鈥淲atching my teammates get in there and race hypes me up every time," Ruck said. "Usually I don鈥檛 go last so going last gave me a bit of that, which the coaches were planning on happening.
"I鈥檓 just so grateful again to share this medal with them."
Ruck and Smith now have seven career medals at long-course worlds, tied for fifth all-time among Canadians. Meanwhile it鈥檚 a first career medal for Fournier, a 27-year-old worlds rookie, and morning heat swimmer Ella Jansen.
鈥淚 think no one was expecting us to win a medal tonight. I think we did a really good job. We have (national) trials in May so we鈥檙e all training really hard for that,鈥 said Savard, who earned her career third medal at her Canadian record seventh championships.
鈥淲e all have a chance to be part of the (Olympic) team and we鈥檙e going to work really hard to help Canada win another medal this summer.鈥
It was Canada's third medal of the world championships. Artistic swimmer Jacqueline Simoneau won gold in the women's free solo event on Tuesday and silver in the women's solo technical competition on Feb. 3.
In women's 200 medley action, Canadians Sydney Pickrem and Ashley McMillan both qualified for Monday's final.
Pickrem had the second-best time among all semifinalists at 2:08.76, only behind American Kate Douglass (2:08.41). The 26-year-old Pickrem was 0.15 seconds off her personal best.
鈥淚鈥檓 happy with that. I think I needed to feel a little bit of that pain today, but hopefully get a better crack tomorrow,鈥 said Pickrem, working back from mental health struggles that caused her to miss last year鈥檚 worlds.
鈥淚t鈥檚 crazy how many times I鈥檝e gone 2:08, 2:09 but I鈥檝e been in different stages of my life. Just me as a person, I鈥檝e been so different. I feel really confident where I鈥檓 at as a human and as a swimmer. So, it鈥檚 good to have it all kind of come into place a little bit."
The 19-year-old McMillan, making her worlds debut, had a time of 2:12.23.
"I鈥檓 so grateful to be here and so excited to be in the final. It鈥檚 another opportunity to clean things up,鈥 McMillan said.
鈥淚 was definitely really nervous but I just kept reminding myself I worked really hard to be here,鈥 she said. 鈥淚鈥檝e spent a lot of time watching this meet and wanting to be here so badly, so it鈥檚 just easier to manage things when you put them in perspective.鈥
This report by 香港六合彩挂牌资料 was first published Feb. 11, 2024.
