Mac Neil, Masse advance to 50m backstroke final at short-course swimming championships

MELBOURNE, Australia — Canadians Maggie Mac Neil and Kylie Masse have advanced to the final of the women's 50-metre backstroke at the world short-course swimming championships.

Mac Neil and Masse, who took gold and silver in the event at last year’s championships in Abu Dhabi, were second and fourth after the semifinals.

Mac Neil, from London, Ont., finished her semifinal in time of 25.64, behind only American Claire Curzan (25.60).

Masse, from LaSalle, Ont., had a time of 25.97, behind Mollie O’Callaghan of the host Australians (25.69).

The final will take place Friday.

Mac Neil, known more as a top butterfly swimmer, set the 50-metre backstroke world record of 25.27 to win in Abu Dhabi.

“There’s definitely more pressure now I have a world record associated with it, but I’m really pleased with that, Mac Neil said.

"There are a lot of things I did wrong this morning, so I was able to fix a couple of them and definitely there’s more to fix for tomorrow."

Masse, 26, is the reigning world long-course champion in the non-Olympic distance.

"I would say (the 50) has definitely become more competitive and for me it’s something that I want to put a lot more pressure and value on now," Masse said. "At the same time, it also is a 50 and so many things can happen so I try and just have fun with it."

Also Thursday, Javier Acevedo of Toronto and Finlay Knox of Okotoks, Alta., advanced to the final of the men's 100-metre individual relay.

Acevedo sits third heading into Friday’s final at 51.46 seconds, behind Americans Michael Andrew (51.40) and Shaine Casas (51.42). Knox set a personal best 51.64 to advance in sixth.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 15, 2022.