Swimming, World Championships Doha 2024: Finlay Knox pulls off upset to claim men's 200m IM world title, beating Carson Foster

The Canadian stunned from Lane 7 with a meteoric freestyle leg to bypass race favourite Foster, who led after the final turn. Italy's Alberto Razzetti won the bronze.

2 minBy Nick McCarvel
Finlay Knox has won Canada its first gold at Worlds, 2024

(2024 Getty Images)

Canada has its first individual world title of the Doha 2024 World Aquatics Championships.

It came via an upset in the swimming pool, with Finlay Knox rocketing through the freestyle leg of the men's 200m individual medley (IM), bypassing pre-race favourite Carson Foster of the U.S. to claim his maiden world gold on Thursday (15 February).

Knox touched in at 1:56.64 to Foster's 1:56.97, with Italy's Alberto Razzetti claiming the bronze at 1:57.42.

Meant to be in the podium mix, Shane Casas (USA) and Duncan Scott (GBR) were fifth and sixth, respectively.

"I executed it how I needed to," Knox told Olympics.com exclusively. "I knew I had to be aggressive in the backstroke... [and then] I tried to close my eyes and not look at the field. In the last 50 [metres] I tried to keep my eyes down and didn't try to peek around.

He added: "This past year I've had to be confident in myself, know that I'm capable. I trust my training and I trust my talent as well, trusting my abilities. Knowing that when I step onto the blocks I'm just as capable of putting in a performance as everyone else."

It's a Canadian swimming record in the 200m IM for Knox, who is 23. He had won a pair of bronzes at Short Course Worlds in 2022 (100m and 200m IM), and was the bronze medallist in the 200m IM at the Youth Olympic Games Buenos Aires 2018.

It's a fourth individual silver medal at Worlds for Foster, who was also runner-up in this event in 2022 (to Léon Marchand).

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