Canada closes 2024 World Aquatics Championships with bronze in women’s medley relay
Team Canada swimmers ended the World Aquatics Championships in Doha, Qatar, on a high, winning bronze in the women’s 4×100 medley relay, the final event of the 17-day competition.
The team of Ingrid Wilm, Sophie Angus, Rebecca Smith and Taylor Ruck finished in a time of 3 minutes and 56.43 seconds, good to secure the final spot on the podium behind Australia’s gold medal-winning time of 3:55.98, and Sweden’s silver mark of 3:56.35.
The Canadians held strong in the second half of the race after the first half saw them in the lead after the first two swims. Yet, a significant fightback from Australia and Sweden’s top swimmers took over Canada in the later lengths, with the Australians narrowly pushing their way to victory.
With the result, Canada ended their 2024 World Aquatics Championships with seven medals in swimming while claiming 11 medals in all competitions.
After winning silver in the women’s 200m individual medley on Monday, Sydney Pickrem claimed bronze in the women’s 200m breaststroke on Friday at the World Aquatics Championships.
The 26-year-old Canadian clocked a time of 2:22.94 seconds to take third place in the final. Dutch swimmer Tes Schouten, silver medallist in the 100 m breaststroke earlier in the week, took gold this time with a time of 2:19.81. American Kate Douglas, crowned world champion in the 200m individual medley, took second place with a time of 2:20.91.
The third qualifier for this final, Pickrem swam in lane 3 alongside Schouten who led the race from start to finish. Maintaining a good distance per stroke in the first half of the race, Pickrem was fourth at the halfway point. From the third length of the 50 m pool, she began her comeback on Alina Zmushka, swimming under an independent flag, to finally distance her by a considerable 1.5 seconds at the finish.
“I haven’t actually swam that [distance] individually since Gwanju [2019], so to have it be a while later and still be here [on the podium] feels good,” said Pickrem. The swimmer also had more than one reason to smile today: “My nephew is supposed to be born today, so the stuffie that I’m getting is going to him.”
All the more reason to make this podium even more special.
READ: Sydney Pickrem swims to 200m IM silver at World Aquatics Championships
This is Pickrem’s sixth career World Championship medal in long course. She also won bronze in the 200m breaststroke at the World Aquatics Championships in 2019. In addition to the silver medal she won earlier in Doha, her World Aquatics haul also includes bronze in the 200m medley and the women’s 4×100m medley relay, also in 2019, as well as bronze in the 400m medley in 2017.
More recently, she won gold in this event at the Pan American Games in Santiago 2023 last October, a competition in which she was also crowned champion in the 200m medley.
READ: Finlay Knox crowned world champion in the 200m IM; Wilm wins second backstroke bronze
This is the sixth medal won by Team Canada’s swimming team in Doha. In addition to Pickrem’s two medals, Finlay Knox was crowned world champion in the men’s 200m medley, Ingrid Wilm won bronze medals in the women’s 50m and 100m backstroke, and the women’s 4 x 100m freestyle relay team won bronze on the first day of competition. The swimming events will continue until Sunday in Doha.
