SWIM RECAP: Day 4 of the 2025 FISU Summer World University Games
Toronto Varsity Blue Ben Loewen came up just 26 milliseconds from a podium position on Sunday, finishing fourth in the men’s 200m butterfly.
Loewen (Toronto, Ont.) was fourth at the halfway mark of the race with a split of 1:56.76, but couldn’t make up ground on the two Americans in front of him. Teammate Patrick Hussey (Montreal, Que. / UNC) finished seventh in the same event with a time of 1:57.19.
“That was race was a lot of fun. I knew it was going to be tough to beat my time from yesterday. But I felt like I left everything in the pool, so I’m happy with that,” said Loewen, who was five thousands of a second faster in the semifinal. “It was a lot of fun being able to race that event with Patrick. We were neck and neck in all three races, and he’s an extremely supportive teammate.”
Both Ashley McMillan in the 100m backstroke and the women’s 4x200m freestyle relay team placed fifth, with Sunday’s finals featuring a healthy dose of Canadian swimmers. McMillan (Penticton, B.C. / USC) both lowered her time from the semifinal (1:00.89), while also improving her seeding with the fifth-place finish, and a time of 1:00.81.
“I was hoping to go a little faster, but the whole thing has been a great experience,” said McMillan. “I’m happy to move up on my seed, and today was a great day for Canada, so I’m excited.”
After a terrific start from Julie Brousseau (Ottawa, Ont. / Florida), the Canadian 4x200m relay team was sitting in second after the opening leg. Canadian flag bearer Emma O’Croinin (Edmonton, Alta. / UBC) was even better in the second leg, pushing the Canadians past the Americans into first. However, they were unable to hold on to their medal position, falling to fourth at the last entry, and into fifth place at the wall. The Americans eventually pulled ahead, setting a new FISU record with a time of 7:52.56, with China and Japan rounding out the podium.
In the morning session, Chris Weeks (St. John’s, N.L. / Memorial) placed 26th in the men’s 100m freestyle heats with a time of 49.92.
Monday will be Canadian-heavy in the pool, with seven Canadians in action in the morning session, starting at 9:00 a.m. local time at SSE Berlin.