Kierra Smith wins bronze medal at FINA World Cup
TOKYO – Kierra Smith of Kelowna, B.C., produced a brilliant second half in the women’s 200-m breaststroke to surge to a bronze medal on Thursday and conclude the sixth stop on the FINA World Cup swimming circuit.
Japanese swimmers were 1-2 with Rie Kaneto of Japan winning the gold in 2:23.01 and world champion Kanako Watanabe second in 2:23.43. Smith clocked 2:24.41. Smith was seventh at the first 50-m split moved to fifth at the halfway marks and was fourth with only 50-metres to go. All three medallists were in the world championship final this past summer in Kazan, Russia.
Thursday’s result marks another strong performance for Smith. She won the gold medal in the 200-m breaststroke at the Pan Am Games and was eighth at the FINA World Championships.
While Smith is the only Canadian entry in Tokyo, a seven-member Canadian team will race at the season’s last two stops in Doha and Dubai next week.
Four members of the team on Swimming Canada’s 2015 Mid-Eastern World Cup Tour are from the Pointe-Claire Swimming Club: Olympian Barbara Jardin, Caroline Lapierre-Lemire, Ashley McGregor and Antoine Bujold. Joining them are world junior medallist Javier Acevedo and Ryan Telford, both from Ajax Swimming and Mackenzie Glover from the University of Manitoba.
Full results: omegatiming.com
