Summer Universiade swimming (Aug. 18): Three more finals for Canada

Photo credit Freestyle Photography

SHENZHEN, China (CIS) – It was close but no cigar in the pool for the Canadian team at the 26th Summer Universiade as the women’s 4x100m relay team finished sixth, while team Canada flag bearer Mackenzie Downing finished in eighth place in the 200m butterfly semifinals on Thursday evening. Canada is still looking for their second medal in the pool.

“It was a disappointing day, we were looking for better results,” said Team Canada and University of Calgary head coach Mike Blondal. “With a few exceptions, we are not having a very good games. We have some work to do.” 

In the 200m butterfly, Whitehorse native Downing couldn’t improve on her eighth place spot from the preliminaries, closing the finals with a time of 2:12.98, slightly off her pace of 2:12.26 from the morning. Jessica Dickons of Great Britain won the final in a time of 2:08.91.

“Mackenzie was disappointed with this result, she wanted a faster time,” confirmed Blondal. “She will have to make some adjustments as she gets ready for future competitions.” 

Earlier in the day, Toronto native Zsofi Balazs finished 15th in the women’s 1500m freestyle in a time of 16:21.72. Heather Maitland, also from Toronto, finished in 17th spot, touching the wall in a time of 17:10.94.

In the final race of the night, the 4x100m medley relay, Dominic Bouchard (backstroke), of North Bay, Ont., Tera van Beilen (breaststroke) of Oakville, Ont., Montreal’s Caroline Kuczynski (butterfly) and Heather Maclean (freestyle) of Etobicoke, Ont., combined for a sixth place finish in a time of 4:08.19. Canada was fourth in the preliminaries with a time of 4:08.68. Bolstered by the home crowd advantage, China won the final in a time of 3:59.15. 

“We thought we were capable of hitting a time of 4:04 or 4:05, which would have put us on the podium, but were unable to reach that objective,” concluded Blondal.

CANADA’S SWIMMING RESULTS: THURSDAY

Heats men’s 400m individual medley
13. Steven Bielby, Pointe-Claire, Que., 4:28.17, does not advance; 17. Cameron Cummings, Oakville, Ont., 4:29.26, does not advance.

Heats men’s 50m breaststroke
18. Jason Block, Calgary, Alta., 28.58, does not advance; 23. Richard Funk, Edmonton, Alta., 28.79, does not advance.

Heats women’s 200m butterfly
8. Mackenzie Downing, Whitehorse, Yukon, 2:12.26, advances to final; 16. Vanessa Treasure, Mississauga, Ont., 2:17.19, does not advance.

Heats men’s 200m freestyle
17. Nicholas Sinclair, Victoria, B.C., 1:51.62, does not advance; 22. Colin Miazga, Saskatoon, Sask., 1:53.40, does not advances.

Heats women’s 4x100m medley
4. Canada (Hilary Caldwell, London, Ont., Tera van Beilen, Oakville, Ont., Caroline Kuczynski, Montreal, Que., Sandrine Mainville, Boucherville, Que.), 4:08.68, advances to final.

Time final women’s 1500m freestyle
1. Haley Anderson, USA, 16:21.72; 2. Melania Felicitas Costa Schmid, Spain, 16:21.79; 3. Lauren Boyle, New Zealand, 16:26.37; 15. Zsofia Balazs, Toronto, Ont., 17:01.48; 17. Heather Maitland, Toronto, Ont., 17:10.94.

Final women’s 200m butterfly
1. Jessica Dickons, Great Britain, 2:08.91; 2. Natsumi Hoshi, Japan, 2:08.94; 3. Hye Ra Choi, South Korea, 2:09.35; 8. Mackenzie Downing, Whitehorse, Yukon, 2:12.98.

Final women’s 4x200m freestyle
1. China, 3:59.15; 2. USA, 4:00.15; 3. Japan, 4:00.98; 6. Canada (Dominique Bouchard, North Bay, Ont., Tera van Beilen, Oakville, Ont., Caroline Kuczynski, Montreal, Que., Heather MacLean, Etobicoke, Ont.), 4:08.19.