Can Ilya Kharun steal the Canadian swimming spotlight?
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Ilya Kharun can handle the circus.
Born in Montreal to a pair of Ukrainian Cirque du Soleil performers and raised in Las Vegas, Kharun nearly became a gymnast himself, but wound up in the pool instead due to its lower cost of entry.
The 20-year-old then emerged onto the Canadian swimming scene just a few years ago both loudly and without much fanfare. He first competed for Canada at the 2022 short-course world championships, where he set three national records and won two medals. His next podium appearances came two years later at the Paris Olympics, bagging bronze in both the 100- and 200-metre butterfly.
Somewhat quietly, Kharun's first Olympic medal was also the first for a Canadian male in 12 years.
Of course, Kharun's rise has been nearly parallel to that of Summer McIntosh, who has mostly stolen the Canadian swimming show.
That's again the case at these World Aquatics Championships in Singapore, where McIntosh is pursuing five individual gold medals — a feat matched only by American great Michael Phelps in 2007.
WATCH | Kharun eager to continue improvement at world championships in Singapore:
Canadian swimmer Ilya Kharun confident he can improve times at swimming worlds in Singapore
Elsewhere, Kharun has taken second billing in his own races to international superstars and Canadian contenders alike.
Kharun, however, might be the favourite to bring the second-most hardware home to Canada from the world championships in Singapore.
The butterfly specialist entered in three solo events for this meet: the 50, 100 and 200.
His best shot at gold seemed to be the 50