Adding to the disappointment was the fact that [Mike Brown]'s time of 2:08.84 that he swam in Wednesday's semifinal would have been good enough to win a silver medal in the final. A Canadian swimmer hasn't won an Olympic medal since the 2000 Games in Sydney.

"That's extremely disappointing," he said. "I would have loved the medal. The first medal for Canada would have been awesome to have. I couldn't pull it through but that doesn't mean we won't be having one soon."

"We still have 10 days to go at the Olympics and there are going to be lots of medals coming from Canadian athletes," he said. "Obviously there is that pressure to try to be the first. But this is the Olympics. This is the biggest pressure cooker you are going to find in competition. I thrive on that stuff. I don't think that cracked me."