Mission's Brent Hayden has wowed the swimming world again, earning a silver medal Thursday morning at the FINA World Aquatic Championships.
The 2007 world champion put up a time of 47.95 seconds in the 100-metre freestyle, narrowly losing to Australia's James Magnussen, who clocked in at 47.63 seconds.
"It’s awesome," said Hayden, reflecting on winning his second career world championship medal. "I was hungry to get the medal. The work I had done on the start really paid off with my reaction time off the blocks being one of the best."
Hayden didn’t go into the worlds full of confidence after struggling at a couple of tune-up meets leading up. But with several family members in the stands, including his parents and fiancé, Hayden rose to the occasion.
"We put the emphasis on more training this season and reduced the number of competitions," said Hayden’s coach Tom Johnson. "So that meant the results this season were not at the level he was used to. But we stayed the course and kept moving forward. It really bodes well for the future."
Hayden's medal was Canada’s second of the swimming competition. On Wednesday, Ryan Cochrane of Victoria was second in the 800 freestyle.