Canadian relay team with Maggie Mac Neil wins gold at world short-course championship

London Ont. swimmer Maggie MacNeil and University of Michigan swimmer became the first woman to break 49 seconds in the 100 butterfly (Jordyn Read/CTV London

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates -

Tessa Cieplucha and the women's 4x100 freestyle relay raced to gold, while Rebecca Smith captured silver on a three-medal day for Canada on Thursday at the world short-course swimming championships.

Cieplucha, a 23-year-old Olympian from Oakville, Ont., won the 400-metre individual medley in a personal-best time of four minutes 25.55 seconds.

Cieplucha finished 0.97 seconds ahead of Ireland's Ellen Walshe. American Melanie Margalis earned bronze with a time of 4:26.63. Bailey Anderson of Smiths Falls, Ont., was fifth.

Kayla Sanchez, Olympic champion Maggie Mac Neil, Smith, and Katerine Savard set a Canadian short-course record to win the relay in a time of 3:28.52.

Smith, a 21-year-old from Red Deer, Alta., was also second in the 200 freestyle in a Canadian short-course record time of 1:52.24.

Siobhan Haughey of Hong Kong won gold in a world-record time of 1:50.31.

The championships, which run through Tuesday, are held in a short-course -- 25-metre -- pool, as opposed to the swimming events at the World Aquatic Championships or the Olympics, which are held in a 50-metre pool.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 16, 2021.