Canada’s Artistic Swimming Team heads into the 2022 World Aquatics Championships in Budapest, Hungary, with a few veterans, and a group of athletes who will compete at the event for the very first time. The Artistic Swimming events begin on Friday, June 17 and will conclude on Saturday, June 25.

Working together since January 2022, the team has gained confidence and shown significant improvement at each competition. This spring, the Canadian team finished first overall in the FINA Artistic Swimming World Series (ASWS) with several medals on the circuit.

Coming off a strong training camp for the past ten days in Budapest, the team is ready for the challenge ahead. According to Kenzie Priddell, a veteran of the 2020 Olympic team,

“It’s a really exciting and special feeling to be competing at Worlds as a new team! We have worked hard these past few months and are so proud of what we have accomplished in a short period of time.”

The team kept their 2020 Olympic technical and free routines for this year’s competitions. Although they are demanding routines, each competition since March, the team has shown continuous improvement in the performance of the elements and the scores received. The highlight routine is new, choreographed by Denise Sauvé. It incorporates the best of the team’s Olympic highlights into a new competitive routine which has been well received on the international circuit.

Montréal’s Audrey Lamothe will compete in the solo events for Canada. She heads into the world championships as the overall 2022 ASWS champion, with 1 bronze and 2 silver medals in the technical routines, and a gold medal for the free routine at the virtual ASWS event in Australia.

Head Coach Gábor Szauder sees this year’s world event as one step on the pathway to the 2024 Olympic games in Paris.

“Our focus has been on building towards the Paris Olympics “brick-by-brick”. I am pleased with the progress we have made so far both in and out of the water.  The 2022 FINA World Championships are a good opportunity to evaluate our progress and to get ready for next steps.”

Also travelling with the team in preparation for the championships is Kerri Morgan, Canada Artistic Swimming’s Chief Sport Officer. Her observation on the team’s readiness,

“I am very impressed with the team’s progress after 5 months together.  The coaches and team have created a positive team environment and are raising the bar every day.  I am looking forward to the learning and development that will occur at the FINA World Championships and to celebrating how far we have come in such a short while! ”

The team members competing for Canada at the FINA World Aquatics Championships are:

Rosalie Boissonneault Drummondville, QC
Sydney Carroll Saskatoon, SK
Scarlett Finn Toronto, ON
Laurianne Imbeau Québec, QC
Audrey Lamothe Montréal, QC
Raphaelle Plante Québec, QC
Kenzie Priddell Regina, SK
Kiara Quieti Saint-Léonard, QC
Alicia Rehel Mirabel, QC
Claire Scheffel Brantford, ON
Kiana Sweet Calgary, AB
Maude Turcotte Laval, QC
COACHES
Gábor Szauder Head Coach
Kasia Kulesza Assistant Coach
Claudia Holzner Assistant Coach
Karine Doré Assistant Coach (not in Budapest)
Yelyzaveta Yakhno Assisting with solo and team

 

The full Competition Schedule is available on the FINA website. CBC Sports will be live streaming many of the Aquatic Championships events on its website – for details visit CBC Sports – Broadcast Schedule.