Mackenzie Darragh posted the fastest time in the heats of the men's 200m butterfly at the 2018 Commonwealth Games on Friday.
The 24-year-old from Mississauga, Ont., topped his heat in a time of 1:56.96, besting Scotland's Duncan Scott and 2012 Olympic gold medallist Chad Le Clos. Darragh's time was faster than any of the 14 swimmers from the two heats, and it was just 0.09 seconds off his own Canadian record.
Mack Darragh just moved through the 200 fly heats in 1st! Just off his Canadian record with a 1:56.96 #GC2018Swimming #gc2018 #sharethedream #livethemoment @cgc_jcc @mackdarragh pic.twitter.com/hLkKsJJX8U
— Swimming Canada (@SwimmingCanada) April 7, 2018
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Darragh will start in lane 4 of the final, which will take place at 5:37 a.m. ET on Saturday.
Oleksiak advances to 50m butterfly semis
Penny Oleksiak moved on to the semifinals of the women's 50m butterfly after posting a time of 25.95 in the heats.
The 17-year-old finished second in her heat behind Australia's Madeline Groves, and will race from lane 5 in the second semifinal at 6:44 a.m. ET on Saturday. Oleksiak will be joined by fellow Canadian Rebecca Smith in the semifinals, after Smith clocked a 26.65 in the heats.
The 50m butterfly is not Oleksiak's best event, as the Toronto teenager is better known for the 100m butterfly and 100m freestyle. She is the reigning Olympic champion in the 100m butterfly, and she captured silver at Rio in the freestyle at that same distance.
Oleksiak has already won a silver medal at these Games, finishing second in the 4x100m freestyle with teammates Taylor Ruck, Kayla Sanchez and Alexia Zevnik on Thursday.