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Kylie Masse focused on herself, not world record time

This preview article for the 17th FINA World Championships is powered by Canada’s Dairy Farmers’ Fuelling Women’s Champions, a movement dedicated to recognizing and empowering our country’s female athletes.

By Jim Morris

They can finally start talking about 58.12 seconds, but they aren’t focusing on it.

That’s the world record time for the women’s 100-metre backstroke. If Kylie Masse breaks that barrier this summer, it will be because she’s focused on improving her own best time.

“We now can talk about it,” said Masse’s coach Linda Kiefer. “We can talk about goals like winning the world championships, or going after the world record, but really we are just focused on Kylie continuing to improve.”

While Kiefer has no problems talking about breaking the world record, Masse is a little more circumspect.

“For me personally I don’t like to think too much about numbers,” said the soft-spoken 21-year-old from Windsor, Ont. “I’ve never been one to race and keep a time in my head.

“I’ve always liked to have an open mind, I guess. I find it clutters my head and I over think. When I’m racing I try to keep an empty mind.”

Masse, who earned bronze in the 100-m backstroke at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, has already fired a shot across the bow of her competitors at this summer’s FINA World Championships in Budapest.

Masse won the 100-m back at the Team Canada Trials in Victoria in a blistering 58.21 seconds. That broke her own Canadian record and the Americas record of 58.33 held by American Missy Franklin.

Masse was just .09 of a second off the world record held by Britain’s Gemma Spofforth, set back in 2009 at the Rome world championships before the high-tech fast racing suits were banned.

Masse’s time in Victoria was also better than the 58.45 Hungary’s Katinka Hosszu swam to win the 100-m back gold medal in Rio. That sets up a potential world championship showdown with Hosszu this summer.

“I think it will be crazy,” Masse said about racing the Olympic champion on her home turf.

“I think it will bring a lot of the public to spectate, which is awesome having a stadium with so many people cheering. It really brings the atmosphere and environment up.”

Since Rio there has been a fine-tuning of Masse’s stroke, slight adjustments that have shaved off valuable 100ths of a second.

“We’ve worked the last year on the little things,” said Kiefer. “Her swimming, her actual stroke, is very good.

“We’re not tweaking that very much. But we tweaked the turns, going into the turns, out of the turns. We worked on her start. The other thing is strength. Every year we are getting just that much stronger.”

Masse pulled off an upset later at the Trials when she won the 200-m backstroke, beating Hilary Caldwell, the Olympic bronze medallist in the event. Masse won the race in two minutes, 7.23 seconds, with Caldwell just .06 behind.

Kiefer wasn’t surprised by the result.

“Our focus is the 100 (but) we know she can do it,” she said. “Occasionally we will throw her in the 200.”

Masse called Caldwell a role model for her and many of the young swimmers in the Canadian program.

“I know I learned from racing her and watching her,” she said.

“It really bodes well for the future of younger kids. They can learn from such a deep backstroke field we have in Canada.”

The last year has been busy for Masse. Winning the bronze in Rio was a huge step in the University of Toronto student’s development.

“I think it really opened my eyes to more racing in the future,” she said. “I think my coaches believed in me more than I did all of last year.

“Achieving what I did in the summer gave myself more confidence leading into the year ahead.”

Masse had little time to celebrate her Olympic feat before turning her attention to the FINA World Swimming Championships (25-m) in her hometown of Windsor.

She didn’t disappoint, taking a silver medal in the 100-m back – while setting a Canadian short-course record of 56.02 – and being part of the 4×100-m medley relay that was second in Canadian record time.

Masse, who also acted as an ambassador for the championships, said competing at home, in front of friends and family, was a valuable learning experience.

“I think I almost put a bit more pressure on myself than the Olympics,” she said.

“It really taught me how to channel my nerves and put the focus where it needs to be before the races and being able to adapt.”

Kiefer said earlier this year she outlined Masse’s training program with Swimming Canada. That plan included setting a world record.

“It’s still in our plan,” said Kiefer. “Now she has to start saying it and start believing it. She’s very humble.”

For her part, Masse prefers to do her talking in the pool.

“There is only so much you can think about,” she said. “It’s the work in the pool.”

Fuel for Thought with Kylie Masse

What does it take to fuel a woman champion? It takes training, support, determination, perseverance, drive, and of course a balanced diet filled with nutritious food including at least three servings of dairy daily. Here is a look inside what it takes to fuel Kylie Masse:

Q: How important is nutrition to a competitive swimmer and how do you ensure you get the proper nutrition to fuel your body?

A: Nutrition is extremely important! It is crucial to be fuelling your body with the proper foods so that your body can train and preform at a consistently high level. I ensure that I get the proper nutrients by eating breakfast, lunch and dinner and by eating healthy snacks both before and after workout.

Q: What are some staple foods in your diet?

A: Some staple foods in my diet are chicken because it is a great source of protein. I like fish, beef, pork and will always enjoy a nice bowl of pasta. Additionally, I love my veggies and fruits so daily those fit in my diet.

Q: What are some of your favourite things to eat before and after training?

A: Some snacks I love eating before or after training are typically banana and peanut butter, and some sort of protein bar. I also love a good smoothie or a little bowl of Greek yogurt, berries, honey and granola.

Q: What is your favourite way (other than swimming) to keep active and fit?

A: Other than swimming my favourite way to stay active is to take a Zumba class or dance class.

Q: What do you do to get pumped up before a race or workout?

A: To get pumped up before a race or workout I usually listen to music or chat with friends!