2024 World 200 IM Champion Finlay Knox of Canada announced on April 29th that he is dealing with a back injury.
Knox shared that the injury is a left-sided disc bulge between his L4 and L5 vertebrae, and clarified that it did not originate from any training-related issue.
Despite the setback, Knox emphasized on Instagram that his goals for the year remain unchanged and that he plans to attend trials “feeling 100%” and “ready to go.”
He wrote: “I currently have a left-sided disc bulge between my L4 and L5 vertebrae.
“I don’t usually post much about personal setbacks, but I want to start sharing a little more of the full journey. As an athlete, the path isn’t always straight and that’s okay. I believe it’s important to normalize that setbacks happen rather than hiding it, and there’s always a positive way forward.
“Some of you probably noticed that I only raced one session at Canada Open Championships and scratched the rest. Over the past couple of months, I’ve been managing some pretty bad nerve pain deep in my left glute and down to my knee. After a few weeks of treatment and limited training trying to manage it, we decided to get an MRI where we found the slight left sided disc bulge between my L4 and L5 vertebrae.
“The good news is it’s nothing major and I’m really lucky to have an incredible team around me at @hpc_vancouver and back home at @aisstokotoks helping me through it. We’ve got a strong plan in place and things are already heading in the right direction.
“Just to clear it up, this wasn’t from overtraining, overloading in the gym, or from anything preventable, sometimes these things just happen. What matters is how you handle it.
“The goals for the summer haven’t changed. I’ll be showing up at trials feeling 100% and ready to go.
“As of right now, it just means more deliberate recovery, lots of Mackenzie presses and a whole lot of good low back posture!”
Knox shared an update on May 16th, saying, “I just want to thank everyone for the kind messages about my back. It’s been a challenging few months, but I’m still making sure to enjoy the challenge and with that I’m getting closer and closer to full health. Big shoutout to my team at @hpc_vancouver for always having me covered and making sure I’m getting the right treatment to speed up recovery.”
He added, “For the sake of video length, I couldn’t include everything I’ve been doing to support my recovery. But two key pillars have been proper nutrition and getting enough rest, both essential alongside the rehab exercises and treatments.”
This past Wednesday, Knox provided a third update, stating, “First proper long course meet of 2025 in the books. Lots of things to take back to training as I prepare for trials coming up next month.
“Great news is the back held up just fine over the weekend which is really reassuring that the work and treatment plan @hpc_vancouver and I have been executing over the last 2 months is finally paying off.
“Big shout out to all the volunteers and staff that set up and help put on this event. Truly amazing that @swimmelzajac has been running for 60 years!”
The meet Knox is referring to is the Mel Zajac Junior International, which took place from Friday, May 16th through Sunday, May 18th. While he did not compete in his bread-and-butter event, the 200 IM, he did swim and win the 50 fly (23.73) and 100 breast (1:01.64).
He also finished 2nd in the 100 free (50.03) and 4th in the 100 back (56.00). His personal bests in those events are 23.25, 1:00.66, 48.29, and 55.25, respectively.
This was Knox’s first long course meet of the year, excluding the Canadian Open, which he withdrew from in early April after recording prelims times of 1:03.26 in the 100 breast and 54.07 in the 100 fly on day one.
Knox is best known for his standout performance in the 200 IM at the 2024 World Championships, where he seized the opportunity in the final at last year’s Worlds in Doha—closing strong on Carson Foster in the last 50 meters to claim his first world title. He reset his Canadian record in the process with a time of 1:56.64.
Knox then lowered that record to 1:56.07 at the Canadian Olympic Trials, a time that ranked him 6th in the world for the year. At the Olympics, he finished 8th in the 200 IM in 1:57.26.
He is incredibly versatile, having swum on Canada’s 4×100 free relay (splitting 47.96 at 2024 LC Worlds), competed in both breast and fly legs on medley relays, and placed 9th in the 50 back at the 2024 Short Course Worlds (23.03). He capped the year with four medals those SC Worlds, including an individual bronze in the 200 IM.
Prior to this year, Knox was 13th in the 200 IM at the 2023 Worlds (1:58.23), 17th at the 2022 Worlds (1:59.60), and 17th at his first Olympic Games in Tokyo 2020(1) with a time of 1:58.29.
At the 2020(1) Canadian Olympic Trials in Toronto, Knox broke the national record in the 200 IM for the first time, clocking 1:58.07.
Why?