DOHA, Qatar — Finlay Knox is looking at his world title as another step forward toward competing with the fastest swimmers in the pool,
Knox of Okotoks, Alta., won Canada's second gold medal of the 2024 world aquatics championships Thursday with a victory in the men's 200-metre medley.
The 23-year-old finished in a Canadian-record time of one minute 56.64 seconds.
Knox, who was third heading into the final 50 metres, fended off a challenge from American Carson Foster, who finished 0.33 seconds behind the Canadian (1:56.97).
“It feels incredible obviously now having the world champion under my name,” said the 23-year-old Olympian. “For me, it’s just another step forward. I’m very happy to be in the spotlight tonight but in the back of my mind I know there are some faster swimmers out there which keeps me hungry.”
The medley has swimmers use four strokes over the course of a race — butterfly, then backstroke, followed by breaststroke and freestyle. Knox said the key was to stay in the mix when having to use his slower strokes.
"Historically, I'm pretty slow in the backstroke, and as I've gotten older the breaststroke has been a little bit of a struggle as well," Knox said. “So just making sure I'm strong through that, and then the last 50 everyone knows you just have to dig deep and go for it.”
Italy's Alberto Razzetti was third (1:57.42).
The medal is Knox's first in an individual race at the senior level.
Montreal's Jacqueline Simoneau won Canada's other gold medal in Doha in last week's solo free artistic swimming event.
Also Thursday, Calgary's Ingrid Wilm picked up her second bronze medal of the world championships with a third-place finish in the women's 50-metre backstroke. Wilm edged Lauren Cox of Britain by .04 seconds to get the last spot on the podium.
Claire Curzan of the United States won gold in 27.43 seconds, ahead of Australia's Iona Anderson (27.45) and Wilm (27.61) in a tight race.
"I’m feeling incredibly lucky," the 25-year-old Wilm said. "The 50 is always very up in the air. If wishes were fishes I wish it was a bit of a faster time, but really glad I get to represent Canada on the podium again. I’m so happy for that."
Canada has nine medals in Doha (two gold, three silver, four bronze) heading into the final three days of competition, including five swimming medals (one gold, one silver, three bronze).
Later Thursday, Canada's Sydney Pickrem qualified third for Friday's women’s 200-metre breaststroke final with a semifinal time of 2:23.77.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 15, 2024.
The Canadian Press
