Swimming | Canada continues to smile at Katerine Savard

Katerine Savard participated Friday in her third international competition among seniors in Canada and she had always had great success there.

The Quebecer continued her momentum at the World Cup in Toronto, Ontario, by winning the bronze medal in the 200m butterfly.

“I’m so happy with this medal, the energy of the spectators is always felt and it really gives a boost additional. It’s always going well for me in Canada and it’s very pleasant,” Savard said in an interview with Sportcom.

Domestically, Savard had previously won medals at the Pan American Games in Toronto in 2015 and the World Short Course Championships in Windsor in 2016.

Installed in fourth place for a good part of the final, Savard picked up the pace towards the middle of the race to overtake the Australian Brittany Castelluzzo and secure her place on the third step of the podium in a time of 2 min 6.62 s. .

“It’s often my strategy to set off more slowly to finish the races strong. I try to keep my pace, not to find myself too behind and then I go for it. It may be a bit easier physically for me to swim in a small pool as we have only recently resumed training. You have to take advantage of these situations and that’s what I did today, ”she added.

Americans Kelly Pash and Hali Flickinger battled it out until the last second for first place. Pash finally held on to win by 0.39s over her compatriot.

In qualifying, Savard finished first in his heat with a time of 2 min 8.77 s. It was the third best time in the cumulative of the two waves.

Savard also took part in qualifying for the 50m freestyle where she finished 13^e rank in total (25.13 seconds) and could not get his ticket to the final.

Savard’s bronze medal gives her a good dose of confidence for the rest of the weekend which promises to be very busy for her.

“It’s motivating for the future. Emotionally, I was a little apprehensive about doing the 200 butterfly because I didn’t know if I was going to be fit enough to last both races. I surprised myself and it’s very nice. I can’t wait to continue the weekend,” she concluded.

Two finals for Mary-Sophie Harvey

Mary-Sophie Harvey also had a busy day on Friday as she competed in the 50m backstroke and 100m medley finals.

No less than four Canadian swimmers were in action in the 50m backstroke final. Harvey had to settle for seventh in the event (+0.71 seconds) while her teammates Maggie Mac Neil, first, Kylie Masse, second, (+0.06 seconds) and Ingrid Wilm, third, (+0 .22 seconds) stormed the podium.

Harvey secured her place in the final by finishing second in her qualifying heat, tied with American Linnea Mack.

Back in the pool less than an hour later, the Trifluvienne took eighth place in the 100m medley which, according to her, looked like an intense sprint.

“It’s not necessarily my best time, but it’s my first competition of the season and I can’t ask for too much. Everything happens so quickly in a 100m medley, you quickly change the type of stroke and everything happens underwater. It’s particular, but I like this style, ”she explained.

The 100m medley was won by Frenchwoman Beryl Gastaldello in a time of 57.97s. American Beata Nelson (+0.09 seconds) and Sweden’s Louise Hansson (+0.34 seconds) accompanied the Frenchwoman on the podium.

Even if the results were not necessarily there on Friday, Mary-Sophie Harvey retained a lot of positives from her first World Cup experience. She intends to rely on her two finals of the day to motivate herself during her other races of the weekend, she who is swimming in the country for the first time on the international scene.

“I’m happy to have been part of the two finals. Whether I’m at the top of my form or not, it’s always a goal to qualify for the finals. I am also happy to have been able to contribute to Canada’s success today. »

The Toronto World Cup continues on Saturday. Katerine Savard should be in action in the 50m butterfly and 200m freestyle while Mary-Sophie Harvey will also be in the 200m freestyle in addition to the 100m backstroke.