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Julia Wilkinson has a plan for her first swim in an Olympic final: pretend it's not an Olympic final.

The 21-year-old Olympic rookie from Stratford, Ont., reached the final eight of the women's 200-metre individual medley with a Canadian record time of two minutes 12.03 seconds.

Her Tuesday showing tied her for second in her semi-final and was the fifth-fastest overall. She will race Wednesday morning, making her the fourth Canadian to reach a final in Beijing.

At the Athens Olympics, the Canadian team totaled just three appearances in finals and did not produce a medal.

"I have to pretend it's not an Olympic final. It could be nerve-wracking," Wilkinson said of her Wednesday race strategy. "I'm going to pretend I'm at western regional B champs back home in Ontario."

Wilkinson had a disappointing effort in the 100m backstroke Monday morning and was clearly upset. She said her teammates came to her emotional rescue and that, coupled with a night's rest, set her up for a rebound effort in the IM.

"I tried not to think about the outcome and just think about making my backstroke faster," she explained. "I was trying to get my hand on the wall; not just touch, come in there charging."

When she qualified, Wilkinson said she looked up into the crowd to see her mom and her handmade sign.

"It says Canada hearts. She has everyone's name in Velcro and she changes the name. She put China on the sign to get in (to the Water Cube)."

Wilkinson grew up trying several sports before settling on swimming. It was the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, specifically former Canadian swimmer Joanne Malar, which captivated Wilkinson's interest.

"I remember we had a cottage on Lake Huron and in 1996 there was only one cottage out there that had TV and we watched the Olympics and were cheering for Joanne Malar," said Wilkinson. "Now I'm training with Brent (Hayden) and he's a world champ and I'm still awed a little bit. It's amazing."