In a back-and-forth exchange not often seen in the sport of swimming, University of Toronto swimmer Kylie Masse re-gained the short course 50m backstroke Canadian national record from Paige Miller.
Competing at the Ontario University Championships this past weekend in London, Ont., Masse came extremely close to Millers’ then record of 26.74 with a 26.75 performance in the heats of the 50m backstroke. In finals, Masse grabbed the gold in a time of 26.82, falling just short of Miller’s record.
With the chance to break the record gone in the individual event, Masse’s only hope to put her name back in the national record books was to do it on the 200m medley relay.
Leading off the UofT squad, Masse clocked in at 26.65 to go nine one-hundredths under Miller’s record. The Varsity Blue girls won the relay in a time of 1:50.39 winning the event by almost five full seconds.
The relay performance itself almost put them in the record books, falling just short of the 1:50.18 national record (coincidentally which Miller is a part of) set back in 2009.
Masse’s new record marks the fourth time that it has been broken since Miller broke the record for the first time in the middle of November at the Etobicoke Olympium. At that time, Miller broke Chantal Van Landeghem’s 27.01 record with a time of 27.00.
Two weeks later at the OUA Fairweather Divisional Championships, Masse went a 26.84 to become the first Canadian under the 27-second barrier in the event.
Just one week later Miller bettered that mark with a 26.74 at the Ontario Provincial Championships.