Pickrem captures world silver, lowers personal best in women's 200m individual medley
CBC
Canadian swimmer Sydney Pickrem set a personal best on the way to collecting a silver medal Monday, covering the women's 200-metre medley in two minutes 8.56 seconds at the World Aquatics Championships in Doha, Qatar.
She finished 1.51 seconds behind American Sarah Douglass (2:07.05) and 45-100ths of a second ahead of 18-year-old Chinese athlete Yu Yiting at the Aspire Dome.
It's Pickrem's fifth career medal and first since 2019 at long-course worlds (50m pool length) to tie Brent Hayden for ninth all-time among Canadians.
"It definitely means a lot," Pickrem told Swimming Canada. "I just feel really grateful for my support system that's been by my side. "
She will swim the 200 breaststroke Thursday, giving Pickrem a chance to match her two individual medals from 2019 worlds in Gwangju, South Korea.
She beat Yiting with a 2:08.76 effort in Sunday's semifinals, only 15-100ths off her previous best of 2:08.61 from the Canadian swim trials last March.
WATCH | Pickrem picks up world silver medal in women's 200-metre IM:
Eleven months ago, Pickrem withdrew from worlds in Fukuoka, Japan with what she'd called "crippling anxiety and depression."
"I definitely had bad years and bad days and struggle with my mental health throughout the years," Pickrem told The Canadian Press in October. "I don't think this was necessarily the first time. Sometimes I almost forget, once I'm doing well, to still check in and take care of myself.
"Someone asked me, 'Is that all behind you?' and I'm like depression and anxiety will never be behind me. It's going to be something I always have for the rest of my life, but I embrace it and I want to tackle it and be the best me I can be."
Four months ago, Pickrem won double gold at the Pan Am Games in Santiago, Chile, where the 26-year-old took the women's 200 breaststroke and 200 medley in a Games record 2:09.04.
She is a dual Canadian-American citizen who was born in Florida and whose family is from Halifax.
Five days out from the Pan Am opening ceremony, the two-time Olympian won the women's 200 IM at a World Cup meet in Athens.
Ashley McMillan of Penticton, B.C., was eighth in her first world final in 2:13.48.
Canadian Paralympic Committee CEO Karen O'Neill acknowledges the team’s showing at the Milano-Cortina Winter Games wasn't the same as past years.
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Canadian skip Kerri Einarson looked up Saturday and saw real people, instead of cardboard cut-outs, in the stands at Calgary's WinSport Event Centre. She heard the roar of the crowd instead of the sound of flushing toilets piercing the silence.
Aaron Judge doubled and Pete Crow-Armstrong and Brice Turang each had two hits as the United States beat Canada 5-3 on Friday night in Houston to reach the World Baseball Classic semifinals.
Canada's Natalie Wilkie captured her second biathlon gold of the Milano-Cortina Paralympics on Friday, winning the women's standing sprint pursuit for her fourth medal in as many events.
Canada made wheelchair curling history on Thursday as the first team at any Paralympics to complete round-robin play without a loss.
The winningest men's ski cross racer in history added to his total on Thursday.
Canada's Mark Arendz collected his 14th career Paralympic medal while teammate Brittany Hudak earned her fourth in Wednesday's standing cross-country skiing races at Milano Cortina.
Alphonso Davies covered his face with his shirt as he left the field with an injury in Bayern Munich's game against Atalanta in the Champions League on Tuesday in Bergamo, Italy, raising questions about the Canadian star's availability for the World Cup.
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Canadian Para alpine skier Kalle Eriksson and guide Sierra Smith continued their impressive Paralympic debut on Monday by racing to bronze in the men's visually impaired super-G for their second medal.