SWIM RECAP DAY 7: Branton captures second Canadian swimming medal with bronze in 100m breaststroke
Western Mustang Shona Branton capped off the swimming competition at the 2025 FISU Games in style, capturing bronze in the women’s 100m breaststroke.
It is the second medal for Canada in the pool at the Rhine-Ruhr Games, and first medal representing Canada for Branton at any level. The two-time Mustangs Athlete of the Year touched in a time of 1:07.75, less than a second behind the eventual champion.
“This is my first time getting to represent Canada ever, so getting to bring home a medal is so special,” said Branton. “Just to see everyone being so excited in the stands – I was fighting back tears.”
Typically a slow starter in this event, Branton raced out with a time of 31.57s after the opening 50 metres. With all eight competitors finishing within two seconds of each other, a 36.16s split coming back to the wall propelled Branton into a podium position.
“I knew how close it was – I could feel it. I could see both the girls next to me, and I knew it was really going to depend on the touch,” continued Branton. “I was able to stay calm and cool and finish it off.”
Branton’s roommate in Berlin, Ashley McMillan captured Canada’s other medal in the pool yesterday, and bronze in the 200m individual medley.
Julie Brousseau (Ottawa, Ont. / Florida) was milliseconds away from earning another Canadian medal on Wednesday night, placing fourth in the women’s 400m freestyle. Brousseau finished less than half a second behind the American in the bronze medal position, finishing with a time of 4:10.14. Sitting in third for the first 250 metres, Brousseau slipped into fourth over the final 150, and was unable to regain her position.
Also in a final on the closing night in Berlin, Ben Loewen (Toronto, Ont. / Toronto) opened the evening session with a sixth-place finish in the men’s 200m backstroke. A strong middle 100 metres had Loewen as high as fourth, but slid down into sixth with a final time of 1:59.00.
In the morning session, the Canadian women’s 4x100m medley relay team came up one spot short of advancing to Wednesday night’s final, finishing ninth with a time of 4:13.92. The quartet of Delia Lloyd, Ashley McMillan, Julia Strojnowska, and Emma O’Croinin finished fifth in their own heat, just six-hundredths of a second behind Chinese Taipei for the eighth spot in the final.
The men’s 4x100m medley relay team also came in ninth, as Collyn Gagne, Brayden Tiavassalo, Patrick Hussey, and Chris Weeks posted a 3:41.21 time, less than half a second behind Brazil for the eighth seed. A strong anchor freestyle leg from Weeks closed the gap for the Canadians over the final 100m, but were still unable to catch Brazil in the fourth heat.
Gagne (Milton, Ont. / Simon Fraser) placed 11th in the men’s 400m individual medley with a final time of 4:25.39, three seconds behind finals pace. Strojnowska (Vancouver, B.C. / Auburn) finished 22nd in the women’s 400m freestyle heats (4:20.85).