As announced by Swimming Canada on June 12, University of Toronto Varsity Blues swimming alumna Kylie Masse and current Varsity Blues swimming coach Linda Kiefer have been named members of the Canadian national team roster set to compete at the World Aquatic Championships this summer in Singapore.
A five-time Olympic medalist and three-time World Aquatics champion, Masse will be making her fifth appearance at the world championships. The U of T kinesiology grad and backstroke specialist holds a streak of medals at every major championships or Games since her first appearance with the national team in 2015.
"It's always an incredible honour to represent Canada," said Masse. "For this to be my 10th year on the national team is something I'm really proud of. It feels really special to come back after another Olympics and be able to continue to perform."
The national team roster was selected based on performances from this past week at the Bell Canadian Swimming Trials held at Saanich Commonwealth Place in Victoria. Masse captured gold in both the 50 and 100 metre backstroke events at the national showcase event.
Joining Masse once again with the national team as an assistant coach will be Kiefer. Set to begin her 36th season with the Varsity Blues swimming program this coming fall, Kiefer has been a consistent presence among Canadian national teams for several years. Regarded as Canada's highest-ranked female coach, she has been a part of FISU Games, Commonwealth Games, World Championships, and Olympic Games.
"Linda has made herself an invaluable piece to the high performance puzzle for Canada's national swim team," said Varsity Blues swimming head coach Byron MacDonald. "Her swim knowledge combined with her incredible interpersonal skills with these elite athletes in such highly stressful situations makes her a very welcome member to the Canadian staff."
The World Aquatic Championships is scheduled to take place from July 11 – August 3. Over 2,500 athletes will converge on Singapore to determine world champions in swimming, water polo, diving, artistic swimming, open water swimming, and high diving.