Kylie Masse Discusses Full-Time Move to Train in Spain with Ben Titley

2022 FINA WORLD CUP – TORONTO

• Friday, October 28 – Sunday, October 30, 2022
• Toronto Pan Am Sports Centre (TPASC), Toronto, Canada
• SCM (25 meters)
• Start Times
  • Prelims: 9:30 am local (ET)
  • Finals: 6:00 pm local (ET)
• Meet Central
• Psych Sheet
• Live Results (Omega)
• Live Stream (FINA YouTube)
• Day 1 Finals Live Recap

Kylie Masse reached another 2022 World Cup podium on night one of the Toronto stop. Masse hit a 26.02 to take silver in the 50 backstroke, joining fellow Canadians Maggie MacNeil (25.96) and Ingrid Wilm on the podium.

After her race, Masse discussed her decision to relocate from her home country and find a new training base in Spain. Masse will move to Spain to train with coach Ben Titley, who helmed the High-Performance Centre in Toronto, where she has trained for the past few seasons.

Masse discussed the move in her post-race interview and said that while she originally intended to make the move earlier this year, an issue with the VISA slightly delayed the trip. She spent some time in Spain prior to the 2022 Commonweath Games in Birmingham, England. She now plans to reach Spain for good in the coming weeks before heading to Melbourne for the 2022 Short Course World Championships.

Masse also shared her excitement about racing Wilm, saying that the Calgary-based backstroker “pushes and continues to motivate her.” Masse, who won Olympic bronze in the 100 backstroke in 2016, has been the driving force in Canadian women’s backstroke since that Olympic debut. Since Rio 2016 Masse has collected backstroke hardware at the World Championships, Pan Pacific Championships, and the Commonwealth Games.

In the summer of 2022, Masse took gold in the 50 back at both the World Championships and Commonwealth Games, along with silver in the 100 back at World Champs, and silver in both the 100 and 200 backstrokes at the Commonwealth Games.

Wilm, who collected the bronze medal on night 1 of the Toronto World Cup, is one of Canada’s emerging backstrokers, now going toe-to-toe with Masse. Wilm had a breakout International Swimming League season in 2021 when she swam with the LA Current. Wilm and Masse’s teammate Maggie MacNeil is another example of the emergent class of Canadian backstrokers. MacNeil broke onto the scene as a butterflier in 2019 and took Olympic gold in 2021 in the 100 butterfly. But the versatile MacNeil is a capable backstroker as well, holding the world record in the 50 back at a 25.27 from 2021.

In addition to the all-Canadian podium in this event, the host nation was well-represented in the event as Danielle Hanus took 6th in a 26.53, while Mary-Sophie Harvey was 7th with her 26.67. That quintet in the final along with Olympic backstroke finalist Taylor Ruck has made Canadian backstroke one of the most competitive disciplines in the country.

Masse will race the 100 backstroke on day 2 and the 200 backstroke on day 3 of the Toronto World Cup where she will face the likes of Louise Hansson, Beata Nelson, Kira Toussaint, her Canadian contingent, and more.

WOMEN’S 50 BACK – FINALS

Reported by Sophie Kaufman

• World Record: 25.27, Maggie MacNeil (CAN) – 2021
• World Junior Record: 26.13, Olivia Smoliga (USA) – 2012
• World Cup Record: 25.81, Kira Toussaint (NED) – 2021

PODIUM:

1. Maggie MacNeil (CAN) – 25.96
2. Kylie Masse (CAN) – 26.02
3. Ingrid Wilm (CAN) – 26.18

The Canadian women kept their momentum rolling here, sweeping the 50 backstroke podium. Maggie MacNeil led the whole race, flipping first at the turn then getting her hand on the wall in 25.96. The world record holder was the only woman in the field to crack 26 seconds with a 25.96. It’s been a busy weekend for MacNeil, who raced in LSU’s dual meet with Auburn yesterday before flying to Toronto.

Kylie Masse took second in 26.02, cutting three-hundredths off her prelims time. She and Ingrid Wilm went 1-2 in this event in Berlin, and they kept that order here, with Wilm touching third in 26.18. Both of them were faster than they were there, where 26.15 and 26.21 earned them their gold and silver medals.