Canada's Finlay Knox, left to right, Kylie Masse, Maggie Mac Neil, and Josh Liendo look on as the scores are displayed after competing in the 4x100-metre mixed medley relay during the 2024 Summer Olympic Games, in Nanterre, France, on Aug. 3.Christinne Muschi/The Canadian Press
Canada has usually been able to rely on the swimming relays for a few medals at recent Olympics.
But coming into the 4x100-metre mixed medley relay on Saturday, the Canadians had missed the podium in two relays earlier in the week.
Competing in the mixed event, where countries can swim any two women and two men in any order, Canada was looking for relay redemption. But it’ll have to wait.
With Kylie Masse swimming backstroke, Finlay Knox swimming breaststroke, Josh Liendo butterfly and Maggie Mac Neil freestyle, Canada placed fifth, in a time of 3 minutes 41.41 seconds.
The United States won the gold medal in a world-record time of 3:37.43, China claimed the silver in 3:37:55 and Australia took bronze in 3:38.76.
Canada came up short in its first two relay attempts this week; in the men’s 4x100 freestyle relay, where they placed sixth, and the women’s 4x200 freestyle relay, where they placed fourth, narrowly missing a medal.
Masse was fresh from a bronze medal in the 200-metre backstroke the night before, while Liendo raced to silver earlier Saturday in the 100-metre butterfly.
Prior to Paris, Canada believed it had the deepest team it had ever brought to an Olympics, particularly with generational talent Summer McIntosh. But the relay performances have been one of the few blemishes on an Olympics that has so far yielded eight medals at the pool.
The mixed relay is a relatively new event. It was introduced three years ago at the Tokyo Olympics, where England won gold, China took silver and Australia claimed the bronze.
Canada placed 13th in the preliminary heats in Tokyo and didn’t make the finals.
Canada won two relay medals in 2016 at Rio, taking bronze in both the women’s 4x100 freestyle relay, and the women’s 4x200 freestyle relay.
It matched that medal count three years ago in Tokyo, claiming silver in the women’s 4x100 freestyle relay and bronze in the women’s 4x100 medley relay.
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