Canada wins bronze in women's 4x100m freestyle relay | CBC Sports - Action News
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Olympics

Canada wins bronze in women's 4x100m freestyle relay

Canada's women's 4x100-metre freestyle relay swim team won bronze in the final on Saturday. Sandrine Mainville, Chantal van Landeghem, Taylor Ruck and Penny Oleksiak swam for Canada.

Team earns Canada's 1st medal at Rio Olympics

Canadian swimmers Chantal van Landeghem, Sandrine Mainville, Penny Oleksiak and Taylor Ruck earned Canada's first medal of the Rio Olympics. (Odd Andersen/AFP/Getty Images)

By Benjamin Blum, CBC Sports

Canada's women's 4x100-metre freestyle relay team won bronze in the final on Saturday.

SandrineMainville,ChantalvanLandeghem,TaylorRuck and Penny Oleksiak swam for Canada, finishing with a time of three minutes 32.89 seconds. The team was strong throughout the relay, but received an additional push from the teenage tandem of Ruck and Oleksiak on the back end of the race.

Thebronze isthefirst women's swimming medal forCanada sinceMarianneLimpertwon silver in the 200-metre individual medleyat the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta. As well, this is the first medal for Canada in the4x100free relay sinceBecky Smith,GailAmundrud,Barbara Clark andAnneJardinwon bronze at the 1976 Games in Montreal.

Michelle Williams, who swam in the heat earlier on Saturday, was despondent when she learned she wouldn't swim in final. Oleksiak took Williams's place in the event.However, Williams was elated for her teammates and received a medal for her efforts in the preliminary heat.

"We've come a long way, this group of us," Williams told CBC's David Amber after the medal ceremony. "It's our medal and it's our medal for Canada, it's just so amazing."

Australia seta world record to capture the gold medal in 3:30.65; the United States tookthe silver medal with a time of 3:31.89.

"We belong here and we belong on that podium," van Landeghem said. "I'm just so excited right now, I'm so proud of these girls and I hope we made Canada proud tonight."

While the entire team appeared ecstatic over the win, their excitement was dwarfed by the outpouring of emotion from CBC analyst and three-time Olympic medallistMark Tewksbury.

Oleksiak makes 100m butterfly finals

Oleksiakalsoadvanced to the Olympic 100-metre butterfly final on Saturday.

The 16-year-old from Toronto qualified after finishing third in the second semifinal with a time of 57.10 seconds.

Oleksiakwas in fifth place heading into the final lap before using her explosive speed to close the gap and move on to Sunday's final.

Hungarian swimmer sets 400 IM record

Hungary'sKatinkaHosszushattered the world record en route to winning Olympic gold in the women's 400 individual medley on Saturday in Rio.Hosszu'stime of 4:26.36 seconds outpaced the previous record by more than two seconds.

U.S. swimmer MayaDiradoand Spain'sMireiaBelmonteGarcia won silver and bronze, respectively.Canadian swimmer EmilyOverholt, who has been dealing with a hamstring injury, finished fifth.

"There was a lot this year that didn't exactly go in my favour,"OverholttoldCBC'sDavid Amber after the race."It was hard but it just makes that race so much more special for me."

"I'm so excited to go find my family after this," shesaid."I have one more race tomorrow and then I'm done racing and I just get to enjoy this whole experience, so I'm really excited"

Men's 400 IM

The American domination of the men's 400 IM is over.

Japan's Kosuke Hagino survived a late push from U.S. swimmer Chase Kalisz to win gold in the event. Hagino snaps the United States's streak of five consecutive Olympic golds, including two from Michael Phelps and one from Ryan Lochte.

Hagino, the bronze medallist at the 2012 Games, won with a time of four minutes 6.05 seconds to capture the first swimming gold of the Rio Olympics.

Japanese swimmerDaiya Seto earned bronze.

Men's 400 free

Australia's Mack Hortonedged defending goldmedallistSun Yang to win the men's 400 freestyle swimming final. Horton edged the decorated Chinese Olympian by less than a second to win the event.

Italy's Gabriele Dettiearned bronze, the first men's swimming medal for the country since 2000.

With files from Reuters and The Associated Press