2024 WORLD AQUATIC CHAMPIONSHIPS
- February 11th – February 18th, 2024
- Doha, Qatar
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Finlay Knox pulled off an upset victory out of Lane 7 in the men’s 200 IM final on Day 5 of the 2024 World Championships in Doha, shattering his Canadian Record en route to his first world title.
Knox, 23, clocked 1:56.64 to upend the pre-race favorites and knock more than six-tenths off his previous National Record of 1:57.26, set last March at the 2023 Canadian Swimming Trials.
Knox has always been strong on the closing 50, but was particularly clutch in the World Championship final as he pulled off the fastest free split of his career, 27.79, to run down race leaders Carson Foster and Shaine Casas.
That closing 50 was also the key difference-maker for Knox relative to his previous record swim, along with more aggression on fly. He used a similar strategy en route to claiming gold at the Pan Am Games in October, where he closed in 27.80 to win gold in 1:58.74.
Split Comparison
| Knox, 2023 Trials | Knox, 2024 Worlds |
| 24.93 | 24.66 |
| 54.71 (29.78) | 54.34 (29.68) |
| 1:28.96 (34.25) | 1:28.85 (34.51) |
| 1:57.26 (28.30) | 1:56.64 (27.79) |
Sitting third with 50 to go, Knox rocketed off the final turn and quickly pulled even with Foster as the two were stroke-for-stroke for a good stretch before the Canadian got his hand on the wall first.
Foster touched 2nd in 1:56.97 for silver, while Italian Alberto Razzetti (1:57.42) came back in 28.03 to win bronze and Casas fell to 5th in 1:57.73.
FINLAY KNOX IS A WORLD CHAMP 🥇
The Canadian came out like a rocket in the last lap to WIN the 200m IM from lane 7 🤯🇨🇦
WATCH: https://t.co/bFYcWWoD6z pic.twitter.com/IQKpEzLwBa
— CBC Olympics (@CBCOlympics) February 15, 2024
For Knox, this marks his fifth time lowering the Canadian Record in the 200 IM, having first done so in May 2021, when he went 1:58.88 to lower the longstanding mark of 1:59.19 set by Keith Beavers at the 2008 Olympics.
Canadian Record Progression, Men’s 200 IM*
*Since 2008
- 1:59.19 – Keith Beavers, 2008
- 1:58.88 – Finlay Knox, 2021
- 1:58.07 – Finlay Knox, 2021
- 1:57.50 – Finlay Knox, 2022
- 1:57.26 – Finlay Knox, 2023
- 1:56.64 – Finlay Knox, 2024
In the all-time rankings, Knox moves up from 36th to tied for 21st.
In addition to it being Knox’s first world title, it’s also Canada’s first gold medal at LC Worlds in a men’s event since Brent Hayden did so in 2007. Overall, it’s the sixth world title won by a Canadian man and the second in the 200 IM, with Graham Smith having claimed the crown back in 1978 in West Berlin.
Coming in, Knox owned two Short Course World Championship medals from the 2022 edition in Melbourne in the 100 and 200 IM (both bronze).
It’s also noteworthy that Knox progression comes on the heels of a change in training base, having moved from Swimming Canada’s High Performance Centre in Ontario to the Vancouver hub led by coach Scott Talbot.
Makes you wonder where he’d be if he hadn’t hesitated to leave Toronto so long after Titley left. Just wish there was a little more time before Paris, feels like he’s finally back with a coach that can help him capitalize on talent like his.
Time to put Scott Talbot in charge.
I think he waited for the same reason others did, to see if John could get someone exciting in to take over Toronto. Seems like he left at the soonest reasonable opportunity after Mallette was named, as did so many others.
Knox has said he moved to be closer to family.
Surprised that Alex Baumann never won it at Worlds
But Alex &. Victor Davis we’re The top Canadian swimmer’s back in the 80s
Yes, that’s why I’m surprised. But I looked back to double-check; Alex didn’t medal in 82 and won silver (plus 400 bronze) in 86.
Baumann skipped 82 worlds due to injury recovery and set the WR in 200 IM at the 82 Commonwealth Games.
Its covered in the documentary “The Fast and the Furious” (1982)
https://youtu.be/hl5Ya-r_Tew?si=jo5kVmDtcJ0V1xMX
ah, that makes sense. I knew he was the strong favorite in both IM’s going into Los Angeles but 84 was when I first started following international swimming, so didn’t know his history before that.
After 1984, Tamás Darnyi (who really should be in these Top 10 of all-time discussions) started winning and didn’t lose a single IM race from 1985 until he retired in 1993.