TOKYO – University of Toronto Varsity Blues star Kylie Masse won a world-class women's 100 backstroke race on Friday morning at the 2018 Pan Pacific Swimming Championships in Tokyo.

Masse highlighted a three-medal night for Canada. The 22-year-old from Windsor, Ont., who trains at the University of Toronto, went 58.61 for the win. Masse went in as the top seed, earning Lane 4 with a Pan Pacs record swim of 58.29 in the morning. She was second at the turn behind Australian superstar Emily Seebohm (58.79), but pushed past her and also held off American world-record holder Kathleen Baker (58.83).

"That's always the goal for me, I like being able to accelerate in my finish and come into the wall hard with a high stroke rate," Masse said.

The three medallists were the same at the 2017 FINA World Championships, which Masse also won, with Baker taking silver and Seebohm bronze.

"It's always a great race when they're in there for sure. It's great competition and we all push each other. We're also friendly with each other in the ready room which I think is awesome. It's awesome for backstroke moving forward to have that kind of competitive rivalry," said Masse, who now holds the Pan Pac, Commonwealth and world championships.
 
"Unbelievable," said Varsity Blues head coach Byron MacDonald. "This woman certainly knows how to win a race. It doesn't matter if it's in Australia at Commonwealths, Hungary at World's or Japan at Pan Pacs. It is a mark of a true champion to be able to succeed in all circumstances.  Unlike some of the other events at this pan Pacific championships, the Pacific Rim boasts the top three women in the world in Kylie's event, so this was like winning a world title."

Masse was named the top overall female swimmer as the championships wrapped up on Sunday. 

"It's been a long year with a lot of racing, but I've taken a lot of things out of it, especially from the mental challenges I've faced," Masse said. "Coming off of last summer and having a world record was a different, not mindset, but just different things in my head. I was facing some pressures, a lot of different media opportunities, which is awesome and all great to do and I love doing it, but it was more things added to my plate.

"I've been managing all that and really just trying to stay focused and motivated," continued Masse. "I'm still learning how to maintain good racing in back-to-back events and that's something I need to get better at."

Incoming Varsity Blue Rebecca Smith claimed two bronze medals as a member of the 4x100 and 4x200 freestyle relay teams. 

Recent Varsity Blues graduate Eli Wall picked up an eighth-place finish in the 200 breaststroke and a 14th place finish in the 100 breaststroke.

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