Mary-Sophie Harvey was aiming for a semi-final and beyond her wildest dreams a final at the opening FINA World Championships in Budapest. In a very tough race in the semifinals of the 200m individual medley, Harvey managed to come through by finishing second in his run and earning a place in the grand final.
• Also read: World Championships: Silver medal for a 15-year-old Canadian swimmer
• Also read: Aurélie Rivard: two-time world champion
The Trois-Rivières swimmer led the race for the first 50 meters before losing that lead to American Leah Hayes. The fight continued until the end of the race where Hayes eventually won.
“I knew that the race would be very difficult and I really wanted to go to the final. I didn’t want to think about the timer so I could focus on my moves and it worked. It’s time to rest and I’ll be ready for the finals,” said Harvey after his day at work.
The 200m individual medley final will be held on Sunday.
Kicking off the worlds, Mary-Sophie Harvey jumped into the pool in the fourth wave of the day. The Quebecer finished second in her group, 0.69s behind her wave’s winner, Alex Walsh. The American also took first place in qualifying. Harvey finished fourth.
“I was pleasantly surprised with my time this morning. I’m still having trouble understanding what happened in qualifying. I didn’t see the race pass but luckily it was positive.”
A busy day for Katerine Savard
A little later, the Canadian team won a silver medal in the 4×100 m freestyle relay. Despite giving up her place in the Grand Finals, Quebec’s Katerine Savard called the shots in qualifying.
The 29-year-old swimmer was the Canadian team’s last torchbearer early in the day. She took the opportunity to set a personal best of 54.05 seconds and earn her country a place in the finals by finishing first in their run. Rebecca Smith and Savard were then replaced by Margaret MacNeil and Penny Oleksiak for the finale. Kayla Sanchez and Taylor Ruck were the other two Canadian swimmers.
“I’m happy that I was able to help the team to qualify for the final. I had a lot of fun and on top of that my time was just outstanding. Off to Canada!” Savard said.
The Quebecois also featured in the 100m butterfly, where her path ended in the semifinals. She completed the distance in 57.98 seconds and placed sixth in her wave. This race was hard fought as only 7 hundredths of a second separated third from sixth place.
“I’ve had good times overall. I’m a little disappointed to have missed the final by 0.07 seconds. Overall I’m happy with my performance. I could never complain about a time of around 57 seconds,” commented Savard.
American Torri Huske was the fastest in the semifinals, covering the distance in 56.29 seconds.
Savard advanced to the semi-finals after finishing 10th in qualifying, setting the clock at 58.22 seconds.
Also in action on Saturday, James Dergousoff saw his career come to an end after being disqualified in the 100m breaststroke qualifier.