Kylie Masse Breaks Canadian Record in 200 Backstroke in 2:05.42 to Win Silver

2020 TOKYO SUMMER OLYMPIC GAMES

Canadian Kylie Masse earned her second silver medal of the 2020 Olympic Games with a 2:05.42 effort in the women’s 200 backstroke on the penultimate day of competition in Tokyo.

Masse’s performance is a new Canadian Record, lowering her previous mark of 2:05.94 set in 2019 at the Canadian World Trials. Masse also solidifies herself as the 5th-fastest performer all-time with the swim in Tokyo.

Australia’s Kaylee McKeown won her second gold medal of the Games with a 2:04.68. McKeown earlier won the gold medal with a new Olympic Record in the 100 backstroke in 57.47, missing her own World Record by just 0.02. Fellow Aussie Emily Seebohm claimed the bronze medal behind Masse in 2:06.17, meanwhile Masse’s teammate Taylor Ruck, the 2018 Commonwealth Champion in both the 100 and 200 backstroke, finished 6th in 2:08.24.

Split Comparison

Masse Tokyo 2021 Masse Trials 2019
29.30 29.89
31.44 32.31
32.17 32.1
32.51 31.64
2:05.42 2:05.94

Masse nearly equaled her months-old Canadian Record in the 100 backstroke earlier this week, winning the silver in the shorter distance in 57.72.

WOMEN’S 200 BACKSTROKE – FINAL RESULTS

  1. Kaylee McKeown (AUS), 2:04.68
  2. Kylie Masse (CAN), 2:05.42
  3. Emily Seebohm (AUS), 2:06.17
  4. Rhyan White (USA), 2:06.39
  5. Phoebe Bacon (USA), 2:06.40
  6. Taylor Ruck (CAN), 2:08.24
  7. Peng Xuwei (CHN), 2:08.26
  8. Liu Yaxin (CHN), 2:08.48

All-Time Performers, Women’s 200 Backstroke (LCM)

RANK SWIMMER COUNTRY TIME YEAR
1 Regan Smith USA 2:03.35 2019
2 Missy Franklin USA 2:04.06 2012
3 Kaylee McKeown AUS 2:04.28 2021
4 Kirsty Coventry ZIM 2:04.81 2009
5 Anastasia Fesikova RUS 2:04.84 2009
6 Kylie Masse CAN 2:05.42 2021

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SBOmega
3 years ago

Kaylee sweeps the backstroke but doesn’t get her own article 🙁

Coach Mike 1952
3 years ago

Kaylee came back strong, Kylie held on for silver. SO GLAD for Emily with the bronze. Her storied career deserves as much, at the very least. Wonderful gesture for Kaylee to invite Emily onto the top podium, saying “She deserved to be on that gold medal podium as much as I did. It meant the world to both of us.” Of note is that Nicole Livingstone got her facts wrong when she said the last person to win double backstroke gold was Romania’s Diana Mocanu in Sydney 2000. It was Missy Franklin in 2012.

Paul Thomas
3 years ago

So unfortunate that Regan Smith was slightly off (whether due to nerves or whatever) at trials. Phoebe Bacon and Rhyan White are excellent swimmers but their upside at this point was a 2:06, which is exactly what they put in there. The way Smith was swimming here, a 2:05 feels like it would have come off for her, and she might even have been able to challenge McKeown.

Corn Pop
Reply to  Paul Thomas
3 years ago

Its over .. She was doing much better at 200 fly than back all 2020-21 & this is how it has played out. . Facts vs what you want .

Sub13
Reply to  Paul Thomas
3 years ago

And if Kaylee didn’t drop the 2IM she probably would have won that. Unfortunately, Ifs don’t change the results

About Reid Carlson

Reid Carlson

Reid Carlson originally hails from Clay Center, Kansas, where he began swimming at age six with the Clay Center Tiger Sharks, a summer league team. At age 14 he began swimming club year-round with the Manhattan Marlins (Manhattan, KS), which took some convincing from his mother as he was very …

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