(Sportcom) – Mary-Sophie Harvey swam in a FINA World Championships final for the first time in her career on Sunday. The swimmer from Trois-Rivières finished eighth in the ultimate 200m individual medley in Budapest, Hungary.
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A bit disappointed with her result, Harvey was quick to put things into perspective by mentioning the positive points of the last two days of competition, which were very emotional.
“I can’t be angry because it was my first experience in the final. I see that I’m making progress and going in the right direction. It’s not the time or placement I was aiming for, but I’m happy to have achieved my goal of swimming my first final as a senior,” commented Harvey.
“It was two intense days, but very interesting for me. I’ve learned a lot and look forward to continuing to work on the details I’m missing to continue my progress.
The American Alex Walsh won the final in a time of 2:7.13 minutes, just ahead of the Australian Kaylee McKeown (+1.44 seconds), who secured the silver medal.
Third place went to the American Leah Hayes (+1.78 seconds), who had to work hard the day before to win in the semifinals ahead of Mary-Sophie Harvey. Just 16-year-old Hayes broke the junior world record in the final with a time of 2:8.91.
To achieve the ultimate race, Harvey had placed second in his semi-final run. She was also second in her qualifying group, just behind Walsh.
“I couldn’t have asked for a better day yesterday (Saturday). I did a personal best in qualifying, I think that was my favorite 200m individual medley ever! In the semifinals I really wanted to go to the final and it was another success, I even beat my qualifying time,” added Harvey.
The 200m individual medley was the only individual competition Mary-Sophie Harvey competed in at the World Championships in Budapest. She now wants to recover from her emotions before turning to the 4 x 200m freestyle relay she plans to compete in on Wednesday.
“I want to take some time in the morning to relax. After that, it’s back to training fast enough to maybe take part in the relay on Wednesday. Otherwise, training will serve me well for the Commonwealth Games, which are fast approaching,” she concluded, adding, “Go Canada!” felt good.
Swimming competitions at the FINA World Championships resume for the Quebecers on Monday as James Dergousoff will be in action during qualification for the 50m breaststroke.