FUKUOKA, Japan – Canada wrapped up the open water swimming portion of the World Aquatics Championships with a 10th-place finish in the 4×1,500-m mixed relay Thursday in Fukuoka, Japan (Wednesday evening in Canadian time zones).

Emma Finlin of Edmonton Keyano Swim Club led Canada off in a solid 13^th out of 21 teams. Victoria’s Eric Hedlin followed, moving Canada up to fifth place. Etobicoke native Bailey O’Regan, who trains with the Sarasota Sharks, entered the water third and held Canada in 11^th.

Pointe-Claire Swim Club product Eric Brown then chased down Orian Gablan of Israel to push Canada into 10^th, its best ever finish in the event.

“It’s always good to end with the team event and these guys have really bonded. We talked about Top 10 was our goal and Top 10 would mean that was the best result ever for a Canadian team,” said Open Water Head Coach Mark Perry. “They bought into that as what they wanted to achieve and they did it.”

Finlin, 18, said she was nervous leading off against a mix of men and women.

“But it was fun,” she said. “I tried to set the team in a decent position because I knew Eric was coming behind me and he’s super experienced.”

Hedlin, the veteran of the team at 30 and a two-time medallist in the 5-km, said the team did a great job in “the most choppy conditions that I’ve ever raced.”

Canada finished 3:40.6 behind the winning team from Italy, and 13.2 seconds behind ninth-place Team USA.

“We were right behind everyone so Emma set me up well to be able to pass a few of the teams,” Hedlin said. “I needed to set Bailey up very well for her lap, I feel like I did a pretty good job of that. She swam great and then Eric was able to pass (Israel) to come 10^th, right behind the Americans, which I think is amazing.”

O’Regan qualified for the team in the 5-km event, but was called on to step up into the 10-km and the relay after teammate Abby Dunford withdrew with a shoulder injury.

“I felt terrible for her and I just wanted to make sure that I can still help the country and do my best,” said the 17-year-old. “Our goal going into the race was to come Top 10 and we knew it was going to be a pretty close battle from eight to 14, so I think we’re all pretty happy with that result.”

The world championships run through July 30. Approximately 2,400 competitors from 200 countries are expected to compete, including 32 Canadians (16 men, 16 women) across pool and open water swimming.

Finlin and Brown will also represent Canada in the eight-day pool meet, which gets underway Sunday (9:30 p.m. Saturday ET).

Viewers can catch the action live via the free CBC Gem steaming service, cbcsports.ca, and the CBC Sports App for iOS and Android devices, and watch broadcast coverage on CBC TV as part of CBC Sports weekend programming throughout the competition.

CBC Sports’ Devin Heroux is in Japan poolside keeping audiences up-to-date on the latest news and posting social videos daily.

Events will be live streamed across CBC Sports digital platforms, with a live swim show hosted by Anastasia Bucsis streaming daily on CBC Gem beginning Sunday for all final events. Finals start at 7 a.m. ET each day.
Full team list: https://www.swimming.ca/en/national-teams/senior-national-teams/fukuoka-2023-world-aquatics-championships/

Schedule and results: https://www.worldaquatics.com/competitions/1/world-aquatics-championships-fukuoka-2023/results?disciplines=