SINGAPORE – Ilya Kharun put himself in position to win a medal, while Kylie Masse just missed another on Day 3 of the World Aquatics Championships Tuesday in Singapore.
Kharun’s 200-m butterfly semifinal time of 1:54.43 qualified him for Wednesday’s final in fifth position. The 20-year-old Montreal native earned a bronze medal in the event at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games with a Canadian record 1:52.80 a year ago.
“I can definitely go a lot quicker. My plan going into tonight was just to make it into the final. I hadn’t really pushed myself until that final 50. It was all right, I’ve just got to be quicker tomorrow night,” Kharun said.
Kharun bounced back from missing the 50-m butterfly final by an agonizing 0.01 of a second to finish ninth on Day 1.
“I was really made at myself and just mad at everything, but I just had to turn it around and think of it as more experience,” Kharun said.
Canada had two swimmers in the women’s 100-m backstroke final. Kylie Masse of LaSalle, Ont., just missed the podium, finishing fourth in 58.42. Kaylee McKeown of Australia won in a championship record 57.16, followed by Americans Regan Smith (57.35) and Katharine Berkhoff (58.15). The Top 4 matched the Paris 2024 Olympic finish exactly.
“I really didn’t know what to expect in the 100 just because I hadn’t done much compared to what I was doing for the last quad. I was really surprised (to make the team with a 58.18) at Trials and was kind of hoping to build off of that coming into here,” said the 29-year-old Masse, the 2017 and 2019 world champion in the distance and holder of nine world long-course medals overall. “But I really can’t complain and I have to keep things in perspective with that tonight. To be fourth in the world and still be up there, competitive with the top and with those girls who I know are incredible swimmers, it’s something that I’m really proud of.”
Kelowna, B.C., native Taylor Ruck finished seventh in 59.59. It was the three-time Olympian’s first international final in the event since finishing fourth in 2019.
Canada also had two swimmers in semifinal action. Ella Jansen of Burlington, Ont., finished 11th (1:57.60) in her first world semifinal, while Mary-Sophie Harvey of Trois-Rivières, Que., was 15th (1:58.57).
“My goal has been to advance, whether that was a semi or a final, I just wanted to get a second swim at worlds. I’ve had a lot of trouble in the past swimming fast in the morning, so this morning was a really big step for me,” said Jansen, 19. “I knew that regardless of what happened tonight I was going to be proud of myself.
Harvey had a difficult time bouncing back after Monday’s breakthrough bronze in the 200-m individual medley, and was experiencing left shoulder pain that hampered her freestyle.
“I didn’t really do any free warmup, there was a big question mark of if I was going to swim it tonight or not,” said Harvey, who trains with Greg Arkhurst at Montreal’s CAMO club. “Sadly, it was just not there.”
In the morning heats, Oliver Dawson of Grande Prairie, Alta., swam a personal best 27.55 in the 50-m breaststroke to tie for 32nd. That was just 0.1 from Scott Dickens’ 16-year-old Canadian record and makes him the fastest 17-year-old in Canadian
“It’s surreal: the people, the lights, it’s crazy,” said Dawson of his first world long-course race. “I’ve just been waiting.”
Fellow first-timer Ethan Ekk swam his second personal best of the meet, going 7:53.30 in the 800-m freestyle to finish 14th. Ekk also had a lifetime best (3:46.01) to finish ninth in the 400 free on Day 1.
“I knew my 400 free was really good so I was hoping I could get under 7:50,” said Ekk, who turned 18 earlier this year. “I’m expecting a big drop in the 200 back (Thursday). I want to make finals and for our 4×200 relay to also make finals (Friday).
Summer McIntosh will be back in action Wednesday with the women’s 200-m butterfly. The 18-year-old from Toronto has two gold medals so far (400-m freestyle and 200-m individual medley) on her quest for five at these championships.
The eight-day pool competition continues through Aug. 3 (Singapore time) at the 4,800-seat World Aquatics Championships Arena, with morning prelims taking place the evening before in Canadian time zones.
CBC Gem and CBC Sports are streaming prelims with international commentary live every day starting at 9:45 p.m. ET, with finals webcasts beginning at 6:45 a.m. ET. All streams can be found at this link: https://www.cbc.ca/player/sports/live
Radio-Canada Sports is broadcasting the swimming events on its Tou.tv platform: https://ici.tou.tv/section/sports with French commentary by Benoît Huot and René Pothier.
CBC TV will air broadcast shows Sunday, July 27, from noon-1 p.m. ET, Saturday, Aug. 2, from 4-6 p.m. and Sunday, Aug. 3 from 2-3 p.m., with key races called by Rob Snoek and Byron MacDonald, as well as a post-event wrap-up show on Saturday, Aug. 9 from 4-6 p.m.
Reporter Devin Heroux is on site in the mixed zone speaking to Canadians following their races, and will join The Ready Room show live on YouTube every day after finals, with Brittany MacLean Campbell hosting from Toronto. The show will include Canadian highlights, athlete interviews and analysis. The show page can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDsQU3UFA4hWNpRkQUQ9V2q1weYX0Z5tT
Swimming Canada and @cbcolympics are also posting content across their digital platforms.
Nearly 2,500 athletes from 206 registered countries are competing across six aquatic sports at Singapore 2025. A record 77 medal events will be contested, with a record prize money pool of more than $6 million US, in addition to a $30,000 world record bonus in swimming.
Full results: https://www.omegatiming.com/2025/world-aquatics-championships-swm-live-results