Tess Routliffe wins Para swimming world gold for Canada following serious back injury

Late last July, swimmer Tess Routliffe withdrew ahead of the Paralympics in Tokyo after suffering a back injury that required surgery. She believed it was the right decision and would allow her to focus on her recovery and return "better and stronger" to the pool this year.

Routliffe, though, didn't have visions of flashing a gold medal nearly a year later at the world championships in June. On Tuesday, the Caledon, Ont., native held off Nikita Howarth of New Zealand to win the women's 100-metre breaststroke SB7 in Madeira, Portugal.

Howard pushed the Canadian in the first 50 metres but trailed the leading Routliffe by 73-100ths of a second and couldn't get closer. Routliffe topped the field of eight in one minute 31.91 seconds, 1.54 seconds ahead of Howarth, with Mexico's Somellera Manduja nearly nine seconds behind in third (1:40.55).

The 23-year-old Routliffe said she wasn't 100 per cent Tuesday morning, noting her back felt "a little rough" after clocking 3:00.75 for silver in the 200 individual medley SM7 on Sunday, but she was determined to perform well.

"[I] just tried to do what I could to try to feel better and it worked out pretty well," Routliffe said after Tuesday's victory, an upgrade from her silver effort at the 2019 worlds in London. "I'm ecstatic."

WATCH | Routliffe tops breaststroke field in 1 minute 31.91 seconds:

Routliffe has had hypochondroplasia, a condition affecting the conversion of cartilage into bone, causing shortened limbs (dwarfism), since she was born in New Zealand while her parents travelled the world.

She began swimming at age 3 with Dorado Stars in Caledon and reportedly has looked in her best shape this year. She made a successful return from surgery in early April, capturing the 100