Team Canada had one last program to show the world on Saturday at the FINA World Junior Championships: its free routine.
Based on the theme We the North, the routine is an exploration of winter and includes underlying imagery of power, strength, fire, ice, and unity. The music is a combination of three selections by artist Epic Score and two by the famous Toronto-born artist Drake.
In the morning’s preliminary session, Canada secured its spot in the final by placing 7th with a score of 84.8333. Swimming 4th in the final held in the evening, the Canadians took to the pool with confidence for their last performance at these World Junior Championships and improved their score to 85.1333, securing their final 7th position.
Russia and Ukraine earned gold and silver, while Japan very narrowly edged China for bronze. Spain (5th) and Italy (6th) rounded the top 6, followed by Canada who finished as the top country from the Americas.
The delegation was led by Head Coach Kasia Kulesza (Québec City, QC) and Assistant Coaches Jennifer Koptie (Toronto, ON) and Jennifer Tregale (Calgary, AB). Elena Podolsky (Kitchener, ON) was the Team Leader in Budapest.
The swimmers representing Canada in this year’s World Junior Championships were:
| ATHLETE NAME | HOMETOWN | CLUB |
| ARMSTRONG, Emily | Scarborough, ON | Regional Training Centre – Ontario |
| BARRETT, Catherine | St. John’s, NL | Regional Training Centre – Ontario |
| CZARKOWSKI, Jaime | Calgary, AB | Calgary Aquabelles |
| FINN, Scarlett | Toronto, ON | Regional Training Centre – Ontario |
| GAUTHIER, Mikaëlle | Gatineau, QC | Dollard Synchro |
| HOPPER, Paige | Calgary, AB | Calgary Aquabelles |
| REGNIER, Jaiden | Mactaquac, NB | Regional Training Centre – Ontario |
| SPOTT, Emma | Toronto, ON | Regional Training Centre – Ontario |
| WINKELAAR, Cassandra | Calgary, AB | Calgary Aquabelles |
| HOFFMANN, Teah | Calgary, AB | Calgary Aquabelles |
| STREMLAW, Kristin | Ottawa, ON | Regional Training Centre – Ontario |
Here are Canadian rankings for all events at the competition.
| EVENT | ATHLETES | RANK |
| SOLO TECHNICAL | ARMSTRONG, Emily | 8 |
| SOLO FREE | ARMSTRONG, Emily | 6 |
| DUET TECHNICAL | ARMSTRONG, Emily HOPPER, Paige [R] BARRETT, Catherine |
8 |
| DUET FREE | ARMSTRONG, Emily HOPPER, Paige [R] GAUTHIER, Mikaëlle |
6 |
| TEAM TECHNICAL | ARMSTRONG, Emily BARRETT, Catherine CZARKOWSKI, Jaime FINN, Scarlett GAUTHIER, Mikaëlle HOPPER, Paige REGNIER, Jaiden SPOTT, Emma [R] HOFFMANN, Teah [R] STREMLAW, Kristin [R] WINKELAAR, Cassandra |
7 |
| TEAM FREE | ARMSTRONG, Emily BARRETT, Catherine CZARKOWSKI, Jaime GAUTHIER, Mikaëlle HOPPER, Paige REGNIER, Jaiden SPOTT, Emma WINKELAAR, Cassandra [R] FINN, Scarlett [R] HOFFMANN, Teah [R] STREMLAW, Kristin |
7 |
For all results, please visit the event page on synchro.ca.
For additional information about Junior World Championships, visit FINA’s website.