By Jim Morris

GLASGOW, Scotland – Sarah Mehain was thrilled to celebrate the present but already was thinking about the future.

Mehain won a bronze medal in the S7 50-m butterfly and three Canadian records fell Friday at the IPC Swimming World Championships.

Mehain was mobbed by her teammates after touching the wall in 36.98 seconds to give Canada its eighth medal of the championships (one gold, three silver, four bronze.) The 20-year-old hopes her world championship success will pave the way for a podium finish at next year’s Paralympics in Rio de Janerio.

“You are always looking for where you are going,” said the Vernon, B.C., native who is now attending McGill University in Montreal.

“Everything you do this year, everything I’ve done for the past two years, is looking forward to Rio. It’s all about building up for that.”

Tess Routliffe of Caledon, Ont., was sixth in 39.91 seconds.

Samantha Ryan of Saskatoon, Gordie Michie of St. Thomas. Ont., and the men’s 4×100-m freestyle 34-point relay all swam Canadian record times.

Ryan finished fifth in the S10 100-m butterfly. Her time of one minute, 11.24 seconds lowered the mark of 1:11.40 she set in the morning heats.

Michie was sixth in the S14 200-m individual medley in 2:18.51. That broke the Canadian record of 2:19.46 he swam in the morning.

The 21-year-old Ryan said her first world championships has helped focus her goals.

“Even compared to Pan Pacs last year, the girls are so much faster,” she said. “It just really makes me see how much I want to improve to see where I want to be.

“I look at the girls who are medalling and I say ‘I want to be there.’ This has really shown me there is still a lot more I can do to improve my swimming.”

The relay team of Alec Elliot, Zack McAllister, Zack Zona and Jean-Michel Lavalliere was sixth in 4:09.87. That smashed the old mark of 4:15.28 set at the 2000 Sydney Paralympics.

The team of Adam Purdy, Zona, Benoit Huot and Elliot finished sixth in the morning heats to earn Canada a spot in the final.

In other races, McAllister of Lethbridge, Alta., was seventh in the S8 400-m freestyle in 4:47.11.

“I went out for it and died like a pig,” said McAllister. “I was as trying to go fast and I just paid for it.”

There were two Maple Leaf caps in the S10 100-m butterfly. Nathan Stein of Maple Ridge, B.C., was fifth in 58.80 seconds. Elliot of Waterloo, Ont., was right on his heels, placing sixth in 59.27.

Morgan Bird of Calgary was seventh in the S8 400-m freestyle in 5:25.34 while Lavalliere of Quebec City was eighth in the S7 50-m butterfly in 33.76 seconds.

In morning swims, Katarina Roxon of Kippens, N.L., was 13th in the S9 100-m butterfly while Justine Morrier of St-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Que., was ninth in the S14 200-m IM.

In the men’s S14 200-IM Maxime Rousselle of St-Jean-sur-Richelieu was 10^th while Adam Rahier of Powell River, B.C., was 17^th.

Danial Murphy of Bedford, N.S., was 12^th in the S5 50-m freestyle.

Zona of Waterford, Ont., was 12st in the S8 400-m freestyle while Sabrina Duchesne of Quebec City was ninth in women’s race.

Nathan Clement of West Vancouver, B.C., was 11^th in the S7 50-meter butterfly and Nydia Langill of Mississauga, Ont., was 10^th in woman’s event.

The competition, which ends Sunday, has attracted 580 athletes from close to 70 countries to the Tollcross International Swimming Centre. It’s the largest swimming competition before next year’s Summer Paralympics in Rio de Janerio.

All heats and finals will be shown live at http://www.paralympic.org/glasgow-2015Glasgow2015.com. Results can be found at www.paralympic.org/glasgow-2015/schedule/results.

 “Everything you do this year, everything I’ve done for the past two years, is looking forward to Rio. It’s all about building up for that.”