Kylie Masse, of LaSalle, Ont., competes in the women's 200-metre backstroke final at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Nanterre, France, Friday, Aug. 2, 2024.Christinne Muschi/The Canadian Press
There’s a fact about Kylie Masse’s career in swimming that almost sounds made up.
When she tried out for the Canadian Olympic team in 2012 as a backstroker, she came in 99th. Only the top two swimmers make it.
Now, 12 years later, she is a five-time Olympic medalist, which puts her near the top of the career list. For context, her teammate Penny Oleksiak is Canada’s most-decorated Olympian, with seven.
But Masse has become known inside Swimming Canada, and throughout the sport, for her innate ability to rebound.
Whether it’s a bad race, or a bad training session, Masse always seems to bounce back.
On Friday, Masse came from behind to win bronze in the 200-metre backstroke, after narrowly missing the podium in the 100-metre event earlier in the week.
“I think the culture that we’ve grown up with, within Swimming Canada, is that, okay, you might have one bad race or one bad night or morning, but that’s where you win the race – your ability to be able to flip the switch,” Masse said.
Which is precisely what the 28-year-old from LaSalle, Ont., did on Friday in a race against her biggest rivals over the years.
Australian Kaylee McKeown won gold in 2 minutes 3.73 seconds, and American Regan Smith took silver in 2:04.26. Masse finished third in 2:05.57.
It was a race in which Masse started fast and led after the first 50 metres. However, going into the last length of the pool, she was in fourth. But Masse, flipping that switch, charged back to edge American Phoebe Bacon for the bronze medal.
Masse, who is often credited for being one of the key athletes behind the turnaround in Canadian swimming over the past decade, is now the first Canadian swimmer to win individual medals in three successive Olympics.
Masse’s first Olympic podium was bronze in the 100-metre backstroke in Rio in 2016. She followed that up with a silver three years ago in Tokyo, and also added a silver in the 200-metre backstroke and a bronze in the 4x100-metre medley relay at those Games.
“It’s definitely just a culmination of many, many years of dedicating myself to the sport and having great people helping me get there,” Masse said afterward.
Asked to put her legacy in the sport in Canada in perspective, Masse demurred.
“That’s a deep one,” she said.
“I feel like I was fortunate to grow up in the Swimming Canada culture with a lot of incredible idols and role models to learn from and observe and kind of show me the way.”
Canada almost won another medal on Friday, in the men’s 50-metre freestyle, when Josh Liendo came within fractions of a second from giving Canada’s men’s team their second medal of the Olympics.
Australian Cameron McEvoy won the gold in 21.25 seconds, Benjamin Proud of Britain took silver in 21.30, and France’s Florent Manaudou claimed bronze in 21.56.
Liendo came two-hundredths of a second short, placing fourth in a time of 21.58.
“It was a lot of fun. Obviously I wanted to get on the podium,” he said.
Ilya Kharun won the first medal for Canada’s men’s team since the 2012 London Olympics this week when he claimed bronze in the 200-metre butterfly.
Liendo wasn’t supposed to be in the final of the 50-metre freestyle, but a French swimmer pulled out to focus on Saturday’s 100-metre butterfly final, allowing Liendo to enter the race.
Though Liendo is a favourite in that Saturday event, he said he wanted to take advantage of the entry into the 50-metre freestyle final, and wasn’t worried about tiring himself out.
“As soon as I heard he scratched I was like, all right we’re doing this, let’s go,” he said. “It’s an Olympic final, why not.”
Also on Friday, Canada’s Finlay Knox raced in the men’s 200-metre individual medley final. France’s Leon Marchand won the gold in 1:54.06. Britain’s Duncan Scott took silver in 1:55.31 and China’s Shun Wang claimed bronze in 1:56.00. Knox placed eighth in a time of 1:57.26.