White Rock swimmer Hilary Caldwell swam to a fourth-place finish last week at FINA World Swimming Championships, a short-course competition held in Windsor, Ont.
Thursday, Caldwell – a two-time Olympian who now lives and trains in Victoria – placed fourth in short-course women’s 200-m backstroke finals in a time of two minutes, 3.98 seconds, just 1.33 seconds out of a podium position and little more than three seconds behind the gold-medal winner.
The event was won by Hungary’s Katinka Hosszu, a three-time Olympic gold medallist who also holds the women’s short-course world record in the 200-m backstroke.
Earlier that day, Caldwell – ranked third in the world prior to the event – qualified for the final swim after placing first in her heat.
Caldwell’s top-four finish isn’t her only success at the world championships; three years ago, she won bronze in the 200-m backstroke at the 2013 FINA World Championships in Barcelona.
That podium finish came a year after Caldwell – a longtime member of the South Surrey-based Pacific Sea Wolves Swim Club – made her Olympic debut at the 2012 Games in London.
Last summer, at the Rio de Janeiro-hosted Olympics, she won a bronze medal, also in the 200-m.