Masse, swimming in lane six, actually had the fastest start in the thrilling race (0.09 ahead of McKeon at the first turn) and maintained that position through the 100 mark - utilizing her natural and trademark speed, the way she makes it look effortless, on her back in the water. “It’s something that’s taken years to get to here and I’m really happy with my progress, and proud of being able to get on the podium here today.” Didn’t make the worlds final with it in 2017. My 200 has come a long way.”ĭidn’t make the Rio Games with it in 2016. “But having said that, I’ve worked a lot on my 200 pace and training over the last year and a half, two years. “I definitely like the hundred more,” Masse admitted afterwards, gasping in the mixed zone, beads of water clinging to her chestnut-dark hair. On Saturday, it was silver redux in the 200-metre backstroke, just behind McKeown, and she was over the moon with it.
On Tuesday, Masse won silver in the 100-metre backstroke, just behind Australian girl wonder Kaylee McKeown, and she was over the moon with it. Masse just kept stroking: through a plague, through lockdowns, through the pool in her parents’ LaSalle, Ont., backyard because there was nothing else available, tethered to a harness for resistance and some 40 feet shy of Olympic dimensions. Nor had the backstroke specialist, in the aftermath of Rio, fallen prey to post-Olympics post-celebutante angst - just the kind of cautionary tale reporters like to spin, especially with a redemptive coda - because her Olympic bling was merely a Brazilian bronze and she never became a boldface or household name. Who wasn’t the face on the prow of the women’s swimming galleon. Next minute, well, the approaching Tokyo Olympics were triggering Rio nostalgia and glitter revisited: Masse was the woman who didn’t win gold, tied or otherwise in those medals-burnished Games for Canada’s swim cadre who wasn’t the teenage darling of the wet cast who didn’t have a brother playing in the NHL, too cool. One minute, Kylie Masse was a back-to-back world titlist, the most decorated of Canadian swimmers - a three-medal performance at the 2019 FINA championships (one gold, two bronze) and Swimming Canada’s female swimmer of the year for the third straight time.
Like a wet pool deck, lose your footing and slip.
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