WINDSOR - 'The Missile' blasted off twice in one day to lead Canada to an unexpected bronze medal in the 4 x 50 mixed freestyle relay at the FINA World Short Course Championships in Windsor, Ontario. UBC Thunderbird Yuri Kisil blazed through the heat and then the final, where he was helped by his UBC Thunderbird teammate Markus Thormeyer, to capture Canada's third medal of the competition.

The team of Kisil, Thormeyer, Michelle Williams, and Sandrine Mainville hit a Canadian record of 1:29.83 to capture the bronze medal. They were barely an arms length behind the Russian team (1:29.73) and the team from the Netherlands (1:29.82) who captured gold and silver, respectively.

"Getting on the podium, there's nothing better than that" said Williams, the 24-year-old Olympic medalist from Toronto.

Morning swimmers Mirando Jarry, Alexia Zevnik and Katerine Savard, who teamed with Kisil to advance to the final, will also receive a medal.

The world short-course championships run through Sunday. The WFCU Centre, home to junior hockey's Windsor Spitfires, has been converted to house a temporary pool where 933 athletes from 164 countries will compete for 46 gold medals. More than 35,000 spectators are expected to visit the WFCU Centre over the course of the six-day competition.
 

Back to back medals! 4x50 mixed free relay takes bronze in Canadian record 1:29.83! @finawindsor2016 #Windsor2016

— Swimming Canada (@SwimmingCanada) December 8, 2016

 
Watch the live stream on CBC Sports here.
 
See full results of the FINA World Championships here.
 
Preliminary heats are at 9:30 a.m. each morning, with finals set for 6:30 p.m. each night.