PARIS — Before there was Summer McIntosh and Penny Oleksiak — and before the Canadian swimming women ended a long Olympic drought back in 2016 — there was Kylie Masse.
She’s still here in Paris swimming in her third Games and very much the heartbeat of the team. And she’s still competing gamely, just missing a medal for a third consecutive Olympics when she finished a heartbreaking fourth in Tuesday’s 100-metre backstroke final.
She already has four Olympic medals and, after reaching the 50-metre wall first in Tuesday’s final, seemed poised to add to her collection before getting passed by the leaders in the tough field of a race won by Aussie ace Kaylee McKeown, who outlasted the American duo of Regan Smith and Katharine Berkoff.
The disappointment of just missing the podium aside, It has been an incredible ride for the La Salle, Ont., native, who has seen the Canadian women’s team evolve into a group that has now claimed 14 medals over the past three Olympics with superstar Summer McIntosh expected to deliver more here in Paris.
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As a team captain and a veteran, Masse has been a rock for three full quadrennials of Canadian swimming Olympians, a voice of positivity out of the pool and a tigress in her discipline when in the water.
“Kylie has been there year after year after year and I really wish she got the (adulation) she genuinely deserves,” said fellow Canadian Ingrid Wilm, the Calgary native who was sixth in Tuesday’s final in her Olympic debut. “She’s always been there and always been such a positive influence.
“She uplifts every single person on this team and makes sure we all feel like we belong here. She’s genuinely the number one person we go to if we need an ear. She’s our captain for a reason.”
And she’s considered an essential brick in the foundation of the now sturdy Canadian program that has produced on the world stage for eight-plus years now.
“I think that’s something I’ve valued through my entire life,” Masse said after the race when asked to articulate her passion. “In high performance, it’s not always going to be about the medals, but it’s about the journey and the people you meet along the way. I think the more I can share that perspective on the national team now and upcoming. I think the legacy I’d like to leave.”
If that sounds like the words of a retiring veteran, not so fast — she still has the 200-metre backstroke here on Friday and still hasn’t ruled out a fourth Olympics in Los Angeles four years down the long training road.
“I’m going to re-assess after these Games and really just take a bit of a break to think about what I want to do next. It requires a great deal of time and energy and focus,” she said.
The post-COVID years had some turmoil, including shifting her training base to Spain in 2022 to reunite with former men’s national team coach, Ben Titley.
She returned to that established form at the Canadian trials and came to Paris as a candidate for one of the lower rungs of the podium, which seemed well in hand after her terrific first 50 metres.
“Obviously fourth stings a little bit, but I just wanted to put together the best race I could and enjoy the moment,” Masse said. “I’m just happy to be here still and competing at this level. It’s the beauty of my journey. To continue to not be satisfied and continue to learn and compete with the fastest is what pushes me each day.”
That attitude and compassion isn’t lost on any of her teammates, who have come to count on her consistency and reliability.
“When you look at how Kylie handles herself, actions speak louder than words,” Swimming Canada high performance director and national coach John Atkinson said. “When you watch how professional she is with a job to do and power she prepares herself and then is absolutely reliable.
“To be able to sustain such longevity in the sport at such a highly successful level is testament to her professionalism and how she lives her life and how she goes about her races.”