Canadian swimmer Josh Liendo won a silver medal and set a new Canadian record at the World Aquatics Championships on Saturday in Fukuoka, Japan.
The 20-year-old from Markham, a Toronto suburb, finished second in the 100-metre butterfly final in a time of 50.34 seconds.
Maxime Grousset, of France, took gold in 50.14, while American Dare Rose claimed bronze in 50.46. The 24-year-old Grousset took the early lead and held on for the victory.
Liendo won bronze at last year’s worlds and is the reigning Commonwealth Games champion in the distance.
WATCH | Liendo claims silver in men’s 100m butterfly:
Josh Liendo of Markham, Ont., won a world championships silver medal in the 100 metre butterfly race with a time of 50.34, also setting a new Canadian record.
“It was awesome. Close race, had fun, it was a great field,” Liendo told CBC Sports’ Devin Heroux.
Liendo noted he has work to do to prepare for the Paris Olympics next July.
“Obviously it’s been a great meet,” he said, “but still stuff to improve so that’s a good thing. Just keep building from here.”
WATCH | Liendo: ‘Really fast field and I was happy to be part of it’:
Devin Heroux post race interview with Markham, Ont., Josh Liendo after capturing silver in the 100 metre butterfly at world aquatic championships.
Kylie Masse, of LaSalle, Ont., finished fifth in the women’s 200m backstroke final.
Australia’s Kaylee McKeown won gold in 2:03.85, while American Reagan Smith (2:04.94) and China’s Peng Xuwei (2:06.74) took silver and bronze, respectively.
Masse, who finished in 2:07.52, won silver in the event at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021. The 27-year-old fell just short of the 100m backstroke podium in Fukuoka with a fourth-place finish in the final on Day 3.
McKeown’s victory gave her a sweep of all three backstroke events here, after her earlier wins in the 50 and 100. She became the first swimmer ever to sweep all three backstrokes at the worlds.
McKeown took the lead at the final turn and steamed home in 2:03.85. She joined Leon Marchand of France and Qin Haiyang of China as swimmers who swept all three events in the same discipline at these worlds.
In the mixed 100 freestyle relay, Canada’s Maggie Mac Neil, Mary-Sophie Harvey, Ruslan Gaziev and Liendo were fourth in 3:23.82.
Australia stood atop the medal podium with a world record clocking of 3:18.83, followed by the United States (3:20.82) and Great Britain (European record 3:21.68).
WATCH | Full coverage of Saturday’s events from Fukuoka:
Watch the best swimmers on the planet compete at the World Aquatics Championships in Fukuoka, Japan.
Ledecky 1st to win 6 straight world titles in an event
Here’s why Katie Ledecky is one of the greatest freestyle swimmers in the history of the sport. She’s never quite satisfied.
The 26-year-old American won the 800-freestyle on Saturday to become the first swimmer to win six gold in the same event at the worlds. It was also her 16th individual world title, breaking a tie with legendary Michael Phelps for the most gold at worlds.
She’s also a seven-time Olympic gold medallist and the record holder in both the 800 and 1,500.
But that winning time — eight minutes 08.87 seconds, which is the seventh quickest she’d even swum — wasn’t quite good enough in her favourite event.
“I’m just always trying to think of new ways to improve. I mean I’ve already got everything turning in my head right now. I kind of wanted to be better than I was tonight,” she said, twirling her right hand beside her right ear, trying to stir up ideas.
“I’m pretty tough on myself. But I think I have found the balance of being tough on myself but also having that grace.”
The 800 was Ledecky’s second individual gold following her win in the 1,500 free on Tuesday. She also took silver in the 400 free.
Li Bingjie of China claimed the silver in 8:13.31, with Ariarne Titmus of Australia took the bronze in 8:13.59.
WATCH | Ledecky collects 16th individual world gold medal:
American Katie Ledecky’s 800 metre gold medal Saturday was her sixteenth world championship title, passing swimming legend Michael Phelps for the most ever.
Warm welcome for Ikee
Sarah Sjöström of Sweden continued her dominance with gold in the women’s 50 butterfly. The 29-year-old won in 24.77 and has now won the event five consecutive times at the worlds. The win brought Sjöström’s total individual medals at worlds to 20, matching Phelps.
Sjöström also broke her own record in the 50 freestyle, going 23.61 in a semifinal heat. Her old record was 23.67 set in 2017.
“There are not too many secrets,” Sjöström said to her longevity. “Just do the work every day, go to practice, and stay humble.”
WATCH | Sjöström ties Phelps with 20th individual world medal:
Sweden’s Sarah Sjöström captured gold in the 50 metre freestyle at the world championships, and tied American Michael Phelps for most individual medals at a world championships.
Zhang Yufei of China, who took gold in the 100 fly here, claimed the silver in 25.05, while American Gretchen Walsh got the bronze in 25.46.
Fan favourite Rikako Ikee of Japan finished seventh (25.78), but was greeted warmly by the home crowd. The 23-year-old Ikee won six gold at the 2018 Asian Games, but was diagnosed with leukemia in February of 2019. Her comeback continues to resonate with both the Japanese public and her fellow competitors.
Elsewhere, Cameron McEvoy of Australia led all the way to capture the gold in the men’s 50 free in 21.06. It was his first individual gold in the worlds or Olympics.
Ruta Meilutyte of Lithuania tied the world record of 29.30 in her semifinal in the women’s 50 breaststroke.
Live coverage of the World Aquatics Championships continues on CBCSports.ca, the CBC Sports app and CBC Gem.
WATCH | Meilutyte matches world mark in breaststroke semifinals:
Lithuanian swimmer Rūta Meilutytė tied the world record in the 50 metre breaststroke at the world championships with a time of 29.30.
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