Canadian swimmers book semifinal spots at World Aquatics Championships

It was a strong morning for Canadian swimmers at the World Aquatics Championships on Friday in Fukuoka, Japan, with four advancing to the semifinals in their respective events.

The fifth day of swimming at the Marine Messe Fukuoka kicked off with a pair of Canadians qualifying for the men's 100-metre butterfly semifinals.

Ilya Kharun, 18, was the first Canadian to hit the pool, posting a personal-best time of 51.33 seconds to finish fifth in the penultimate seventh heat. The son of Cirque du Soleil acrobats had the seventh-fastest time among the 16 qualifiers.

Canadian Olympian Josh Liendo won the eighth and final heat with a time of 50.98, the third-fastest time of the morning. The 20-year-old from Markham, Ont., won bronze in the event at last year's world championships in Budapest. He is the reigning Commonwealth Games champion.

Kharun and Liendo will compete in the semifinals on Friday at 7:14 a.m. ET, with the final scheduled for Saturday at 7:42 a.m. ET.

Fellow Canadian Kylie Masse followed it up by reaching the women's 200m backstroke semifinals as the sixth-fastest qualifier (2:09.31).

Compatriot Ingrid Wilm failed to advance after finishing just outside the top-16, with her time of 2:12.67 leaving her 19th.

Masse won silver in the event at last year's worlds and the Tokyo Olympics in 2021. The 27-year-old from Windsor, Ont., fell just short of the 100m backstroke podium in Fukuoka with a fourth-place finish on Day 3.

The semifinals are set for Friday at 7:20 a.m. ET, with the final taking place Saturday at 7:57 a.m. ET.

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The event also features reigning Olympic and world champion Kaylee McKeown of Australia, who finished one spot ahead of Masse