UBC's Thormeyer wins silver medal in Barcelona

Nathan White, Swimming Canada

BARCELONA, Spain – Markus Thormeyer of the Swimming Canada High Performance Centre – Vancouver was one of three Canadian medallists as the second leg of the Mare Nostrum tour opened Tuesday in Barcelona, Spain.

Thormeyer took silver in the men's 200-metre backstroke at the high-profile international meet, a tune-up for next month's FINA World Championships in Budapest, Hungary.

Thormeyer's time of 2:00.94 was behind only Rio silver medallist Mitch Larkin of Australia (1:57.48).

"I'm really pleased with my performance in the 200 back tonight. It was good to race a bunch of new guys I haven't really raced before on the international stage," said the 19-year-old Olympian from Delta, B.C. "I feel like getting on the podium was a good step towards my goals of success at international competitions.

Mare Nostrum is a three-leg series of two-day meets that attracts top swimmers from all around the world. Tuesday marked the halfway point, with one more day of competition in Barcelona Wednesday, followed by two days in Canet-en-Roussillon, France, Saturday and Sunday.

"I'm looking forward to the rest of the meet," Thormeyer said. "I think this sets me up well for tomorrow and the following meet in Canet."

Full results: http://www.aquatics.cat/documents/getDocument/4/4057/1st%20Day%20Results/pdf