News & Articles

Kylie Masse hard to dislodge in backstroke at Italian meet

News –

ROME– Kylie Masse of Windsor, Ont., earned her second gold medal at the Italian International swimming competition on Saturday with a victory in the women’s 100-m backstroke while Penny Oleksiak of Toronto added a silver in the 100-m butterfly.

Masse clocked 59.66 seconds for the victory. Katarina Listopadova of Slovakia was second in 1:00.21 and Costa de Saint Zofkova of Italy third in 1:00.70. On Friday, the Olympic-bound Masse took the 50-m backstroke in Canadian record time.

‘’It means so much to win with the Games coming up,’’ said the 20-year-old Masse. ‘’I’m really seeing a lot of progress thanks to the hard work I’m putting in and I have to continue with making the necessary adjustments.’’

Masse’s coach Linda Kiefer says her star pupil is in the right frame of mind.

‘’We didn’t know how she would respond to the outdoor venue here but she’s just swimming so well right now,’’ said Kiefer. She’s catching the water and keeping positive and happy.’’

Penny Oleksiak of Toronto added a silver medal in the 100-m butterfly, also her second medal of the competition.  The 16-year-old Olympic team member clocked 58.41 just edged out by Ilaria Bianchi of Italy first in 58.36.

‘’It wasn’t an amazing swim by any stretch,’’ said Oleksiak, third in the 100-m freestyle on Friday. ‘’I’m just here to learn and I’m so excited to swim against racers who have a chance to be on the podium in Rio.’’

Ben Titley, the head coach of the Canadian Olympic swim team, is pleased with Oleksiak’s consistency.

‘’There were mistakes but she executed her race very well,’’ said Titley. ‘’She is really learning how things work on the international stage.  That’s the reason we brought her here: to face some of the best in the world and she’s very competitive.’’

Savard lowers a Canadian record at Quebec Cup

At the Quebec Cup in Montreal, Katerine Savard of Pont-Rouge, Que., is also having a great tune-up for the Games.  She won her third gold medal on Saturday with a victory in the 50-m butterfly and clocked a Canadian record in the preliminaries.

Savard swam a 25.92 in the morning prelims then followed up with a 25.96 in the evening final. That eclipsed the 25.97 national mark set by Oleksiak this past May in Charlotte.

Full results – Quebec Cup: https://www.swimrankings.net/services/CalendarFile/15871/live/index.html

Full results – Italian International: http://www.microplustiming.com/fin2016/indexNU2016_242526_06_Roma_web.php