Eric Brown and Emma Finlin both improved their standing in the 5-km open water races Friday at the World Aquatics Championships in Singapore.
Finlin finished 19th in the women’s race after coming 26th in the 10-km Wednesday. Meanwhile, Brown was 13th in the men’s race, his top finish in world competition.
Both swimmers were pleased with how their races went Friday. The early morning races featured calmer and cooler waters than the hot, choppy conditions of Wednesday’s events, which had been postponed due to water quality.
“I think I got myself in a pretty good pack, which I usually struggle with. I was a lot more patient this race whereas I usually panic the first lap (of a 5-km) because it’s a shorter race. I was a lot more calm and I think it helped a lot,” said Finlin.
Her time of 1:04:37.2 was 2:35.9 behind winner Moesha Johnson of Australia.
The 18-year-old Olympian, who represents Edmonton Keyano Swim Club, started in the second position among 77 swimmers, putting her way out on the edge of the dock to start.
“It was kind of tough to get over but I didn’t rush it which was good. I didn’t panic and I worked my way up through the first lap,” Finlin said.
Brown, meanwhile, was happy he did a better job staying with the pack than in his 10-km race.
“I was really happy with that. I think I swam it really smart, made my moves at the right time and that’s my best placement at worlds,” Brown said. “I made sure I was with the front pack as much as possible and did not drop at all.”
Brown finished the race in 58:08.6, 42.2 seconds behind German Florian Wellbrock, who took the gold.
Brown, a 22-year-old Pointe-Claire Swim Club product, is making his return to the national team after missing the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
“I’m really happy to be back. I didn’t quite make the Olympics last year so to be back here I’m super proud. To wear the Maple Leaf is always an honour. We’re a small team but super tight and proud to represent Canada.”
The pair wrapped up their competition with the 3-km knockout sprint event Saturday. Brown was just a half second away from advancing to the final, finishing 11th in the 1,000-m semifinal in a time of 11:33.1. Finlin tied for 15th in her 1,500-m heat with a time of 18:42.
“I liked the layout of the 3-km, I think it was a fun addition to worlds. Hopefully I’ll get more opportunities to race that because it was a lot of fun,” Brown said.
Open Water Coach Mandy Bell was proud of Finlin and Brown’s performances at the event.
“The 10-km and 5-km races were both best ever rankings for the two in those events, and with the environmental conditions at play an added level of preparation was required on their part,” Bell said. “After two postponements for Emma’s 10-km and a postponement for Eric in the early hours on the morning of race day, both of them adapted easily and attacked their races without hesitation.”
“The 3km knockout was an exciting way to end the week,” Bell added. “It is a new addition to the World Championships events schedule and the nail-biting finishes kept everyone on the edge of their seats. As a staff, we are very pleased with how the events unfolded. Emma and Eric have raced multiple events at this level, so it was a pleasure to support them through their process here in Singapore.”
With open water competition in the books, the focus now shifts to the 4,800-seat World Aquatics Championships Arena for pool competition from July 27-Aug. 3 Singapore time, with morning prelims taking place the evening before in Canadian time zones (July 26-Aug. 2).
CBC Gem and CBC Sports will stream 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 will be 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 will be 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 will also be posting content across their digital platforms.
Nearly 2,500 athletes from 206 registered countries will compete at Singapore 2025, showcasing the best of aquatic sports from July 11-Aug. 3
A record 77 medal events will be contested with the addition of the men’s and women’s 3-km knockout sprints in open water swimming, and Singapore 2025 will also feature 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/live-sports-timing