BUDAPEST, Hungary – Canada capped off a strong week at the 2026 World Aquatics Junior Artistic Swimming Championships with a sixth-place finish in the Acrobatic Team event, highlighting a series of impressive performances by the country’s next generation of athletes at the Duna Arena in Budapest. The five-day competition also saw Olena Verbinska earn a pair of seventh-place finishes in the Women’s Solo events, as Canada collected several top-10 results against the world’s best junior artistic swimmers.
Canada’s best team result of the championships came in the Acrobatic Team event, where Lily Bernier, Nina Bernier, Charlie Breault, Ariane Harvey, Casandra Lefebvre, Emily McMahon, Jasmine Peloquin and Kyla Williams produced a strong performance worth 192.3907 points, good for sixth place in the world. Kaylynne Greensmith and Noémie Jobin were listed as reserves for the event.
The Canadians showed impressive difficulty in the routine, with a declared difficulty of 23.8020, helping them finish ahead of several traditional artistic swimming powers, including China, Japan, the United States, France and Italy.
Verbinska earns pair of seventh-place finishes
Olena Verbinska led the way individually for Canada with two seventh-place performances.
She opened her championships in the Women’s Technical Solo, scoring 233.2917 points to finish seventh in a field of 27 athletes, posting an impressive 97.9500 Artistic Impression score that was among the second highest in the event.
She followed that performance by qualifying for the Women’s Free Solo final, where she significantly improved on her preliminary score to finish seventh with 238.6888 points, placing 7th despite having received a basemark on her very last hybrid.
“I’m extremely proud of how this group represented Canada throughout the week,” said Head Coach Yingli Hou. “We came to Budapest wanting to compete with confidence, challenge ourselves against the best junior athletes in the world, and show the progress we’ve made together this summer. We saw some very strong performances, but just as importantly, we saw our athletes grow with every swim and respond really well to the pressure of competing on this stage. This experience will be incredibly valuable for them moving forward, and I’m very excited about what this group represents for the future of artistic swimming in Canada.”
Verbinska also joined Kaylynne Greensmith in the Women’s Free Duet, with the pair qualifying for the final in 10th position.
Ahead of the final, however, an error was made in the Degree of Difficulty declaration submitted on the coach card, resulting in an acrobatic move being declared differently from the one the athletes had prepared.
Greensmith and Verbinska spent the evening before the final working with the coaching staff to learn and prepare the newly declared move. Unfortunately, they were unable to successfully execute the move in competition, resulting in a basemark that had an impact on their final score and placing.
“Mistakes happen and are a part of sport, but it doesn’t make it any easier for the athletes involved, and we’re very sorry that Kaylynne and Olena were put in this situation,” said Stéphane Côté, Chief Operating Officer at Canada Artistic Swimming. “At the same time, we’re so incredibly proud of how they responded with remarkable resilience and professionalism despite the difficult circumstances. They remained focused and delivered a strong performance to finish 10th in the world with 250.1617 points — a result that does not fully reflect the quality of their swim, but one that they can be extremely proud of.”
In the Technical Duet, Senior National Team members Lily Bernier and Charlie Breault narrowly missed the top 10, placing 11th with 261.7283 points in a highly competitive 26-duet field.
Strong showing in the mixed duet events
Canada was also represented in both Mixed Duet events by Nathan Zhang, competing with two different partners.
Zhang and Evelyn Goddard placed 10th in the Mixed Duet Technical event, scoring 170.2266 points. He later teamed with Noémie Jobin in the Mixed Duet Free, where the Canadian pair moved up to eighth place, earning 195.3091 points.
Zhang also represented Canada in the Men’s Technical Solo, finishing 13th with 189.8184 points in his first Junior World Championships.
Valuable experience for Canada’s next generation
Canada also competed in the Technical Team event, where Lily Bernier, Nina Bernier, Charlie Breault, Kaylynne Greensmith, Ariane Harvey, Noémie Jobin, Jasmine Peloquin and Kyla Williams finished 11th with 238.2700 points, with Evelyn Goddard and Casandra Lefebvre serving as reserves.
The Budapest championships provided an important international opportunity for a Canadian squad combining athletes already gaining experience at the senior international level with some of the country’s most promising emerging junior talent.
The 14-member Canadian team was led by Head Coach Yingli Hou, supported by Assistant Coaches Salma Elbaba and Samantha Da Costa, who also served as Team Manager. Two Canadian officials also participated in the event, Jessica Lamontagne, from Montreal, QC (Technical Controller) and Kari McKnight, from Edmonton, AB (judge).
Canada’s results in Budapest included:
- Acrobatic Team: 6th – 192.3907
- Women’s Technical Solo – Olena Verbinska: 7th – 233.2917
- Women’s Free Solo – Olena Verbinska: 7th – 238.6888
- Mixed Duet Free – Noémie Jobin / Nathan Zhang: 8th – 195.3091
- Mixed Duet Technical – Evelyn Goddard / Nathan Zhang: 10th – 170.2266
- Women’s Free Duet – Kaylynne Greensmith / Olena Verbinska: 10th – 250.1617
- Women’s Technical Duet – Lily Bernier / Charlie Breault: 11th – 261.7283
- Technical Team: 11th – 238.2700
- Men’s Technical Solo – Nathan Zhang: 13th – 189.8184
The World Aquatics Junior Artistic Swimming Championships are one of the sport’s premier development competitions, bringing together the leading junior athletes from around the world and providing an important stepping stone toward senior international competition.
Canada leaves Budapest with valuable international experience, four top-10 finishes and encouraging performances across the solo, duet, mixed duet and team events as this group continues its progression toward the senior international stage.
Team Composition
The athletes who represented Canada at the 2026 World Aquatics Junior Artistic Swimming Championships were:
| NAME | CLUB |
| Bernier, Nina | Montreal Synchro |
| Bernier, Lily | National Training Centre |
| Breault, Charlie | National Training Centre |
| Goddard, Evelyn | Montreal Synchro |
| Greensmith, Kaylynne | Granite Artistic Swimming |
| Harvey, Ariane | Montreal Synchro |
| Jobin, Noémie | Quebec Excellence Synchro |
| Lefebvre, Casandra | Montreal Synchro |
| McMahon, Emily | Montreal Synchro |
| Murphy, Madison | GO Capital Artistic Swimming |
| Peloquin, Jasmine | Calgary Aquabelles |
| Verbinska, Olena | National Training Centre |
| Williams, Kyla | Calgary Killarney Artistic Swimming |
| Zhang, Nathan | Remix Artistic Swimming |
| Staff | |
| Hou, Yingli | Head Coach |
| El Baba, Salma | Assistant Coach |
| Da Costa, Samantha | Assistant Coach & Team Manager |
| Wong, Dr. Phoenix | Medical Lead |