Kylie Masse is a step closer to her first medal at the FINA World Championships in Budapest, Hungary.
The Windsor-native and Olympic bronze medallist is one of five Canadians who advanced to the semifinals Monday morning. They join Sydney Pickrem and fellow Olympic Champion Penny Oleksiak who will race in the finals.
Masse came in first in the 100-metre backstroke with a time of 58.62 seconds.
"There's still a lot of racing left to do, but it was really nice to get in prelims and go that time," she says. "I felt pretty good, so I'm looking forward to tonight."
Masse holds the fastest time in the world this year. She did the 100 metres in 58.21 at the Canadian Swimming Trials in April in Windsor.
Finals at the FINA World Championship start at 11:30am Eastern Time.