It was a phenomenal day in the swimming pool on Saturday for Team Canada at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. In the first medal event of the day, Canadians came away with two Olympic medals in the same event.
Joshua Liendo of Toronto, Ontario won the silver medal in the men’s 100 metre butterfly and Ilya Kharun of Montreal, Quebec won the bronze medal in the men’s 100 metre butterfly. This is only the second time ever in Canadian swimming history that two Canadians reached the podium in the same individual event at the Olympic Games. The first time came at the 1976 Olympic Games in Montreal as Cheryl Gibson and Becky Smith, both from Edmonton, Alberta, finished second and third respectively in the women’s 200 metre individual medley.
Kristof Milak of Hungary won the gold medal with a time of 49.9 seconds in Paris. Liendo had a time of 49.99 seconds, and reached the podium by 0.56 seconds and Kharun reached the podium by one tenth of a second. Noe Ponti of Switzerland finished in fourth place with a time of 50.55 seconds.
Liendo’s time of 49.9 seconds was a Canadian national record. He was the first Canadian swimmer to swim under 50 seconds in the men’s 100 metre butterfly. Liendo had the previous national record of 50.06 seconds set at the 2024 Canadian National Swimming Trials.
