She was seeded 29th, but ended up seventh in the world in the women’s 50-metre butterfly.
Haley Black of Prince George excelled at the FINA World Swim Championships in Hangzhou, China.
In her first international swim meet, Black set a Canadian record during her preliminary heat Wednesday and then followed that up with a seventh-place finish today (Friday) in the final.
She timed in at 25.75, which was 1.28 seconds back of the winner Ranomi Kromowidjojo of the Netherlands.
“I was not paying attention to what was on paper,” said the member of the Prince George Barracudas Swim Club in an interview with Swim Canada.
“What is on paper does not matter. You just have to own your race and know that you have a place in the pool like everyone else and that’s what counts, added Black who will train in Vancouver in 2019.
The 22-year-old Black established the Canadian record with a time of 25.43, beating the old mark of 25.51 set two years ago by two-time Olympian Katerine Savard.
“Overall, I was pretty happy with the way I was able to perform, but I was not able to reach the time I wanted in the final,” said Black, a three-time All American who’s NCAA career has come to an end at Auburn University in Alabama.
“It was still a cool learning experience and I look forward to more experience in the international swimming pool.”
Black also was part of the Canadian women’s 4×50-metre medley relay team that ended up 10th.