INDIANAPOLIS — Jade Hannah won Canada's first individual gold medal at the FINA world junior championships on Sunday in the 50-metre backstroke.
Hannah, from Halifax, shared the gold with Japan's Natsumi Sakai after they tied in 27.93 seconds.
"I was so happy to get under 28 tonight," Hannah said. "It means a lot to me because I've worked so hard for it.
"It was so exciting to be able to have the first individual gold medal for team Canada."
The Canadian women's 4x100-metre freestyle team also captured a gold with a dominant performance. The team of Taylor Ruck, Penny Oleksiak, Rebecca Smith and Kayla Sanchez finished in a world junior record three minutes 36.19 seconds. The United States was second ahead of Japan.
Canada has won five gold medals at the competition — its most ever at a world junior championships. Overall, the Canadians have 12 medals.
Sanchez qualified for Monday's 50 freestyle final in sixth while Smith, Mabel Zavaros and Gabe Mastromatteo are in the 100 butterfly final.
The Canadian Press
