Routliffe's title defence highlights 3-medal day for Canada at Para swimming worlds

Canada added three more medals to its ledger at the Para swimming world championships on Wednesday in Manchester, England.

Tess Routliffe won her second-straight gold in the women's SB7 100-metre breaststroke, while Abi Tripp snagged silver in the same race and Nicholas Bennett earned a silver of his own in the men's SB14 100 breaststroke.

Canada has now won nine medals at the meet.

Routliffe, of Caledon, Ont., touched the wall in one minute 31.91 seconds, nearly three seconds ahead of Tripp at 1:34.39.

"I'm super happy that I was able to defend my title and be able to put down a good race. I was thrilled that I had Abi there with me. It's honestly an amazing feeling being able to race, but being able to race a teammate just brings that level up," Routliffe said.

The victory marks Routliffe's second gold medal of the meet after also winning the women's SM7 200 individual medley on Monday. The 24-year-old won three medals, one of each colour, at the 2022 world championships after missing the Tokyo Paralympics a year earlier due to a back injury.

WATCH | Routliffe, Tripp reach podium:

For Tripp, of Kingston, Ont., it's her first individual medal at worlds, having also won bronze in a relay in 2019.

The 22-year-old missed out on the podium at each of her previous two major meets.

"I'm just so happy to be here tonight. To race against Tess means the world. We just have so much fun with it and I'm so excited for what we're going to keep doing. This is just a stepping stone," Tripp said.

Meanwhile, Bennett also earned his second medal of the meet by clocking a personal-best time of 1:04.41. The Parksville, B.C., native previously won his first career world gold in a freestyle event.

Wednesday's silver medal is the fourth