Canada opened the 2026 World Cup season in style, returning to the podium with multiple medals and standout performances across individual and team events at the first stop of the season held in Medellin, Colombia..
Leading the charge was Paris 2024 Olympian Audrey Lamothe, who captured gold in both the Solo Technical and Solo Free events with two commanding performances. Team Canada also secured a bronze medal in the Team Technical event and just off the podium in 4th place in Team Acrobatic event. The young duet of Charlie Breault and Lily Bernier delivered a top nine finish in their first World Cup appearance together in the Duet Technical event.
Lamothe claims double gold
After two top 10 finishes at World Championships 2025, Lamothe secured individual World Cup victories in Medellín and continues to show remarkable growth on the international stage.
In the Women’s Solo Technical Final, Lamothe earned a narrow victory over Slovakia’s Zofia Strapenkova, with only 0.8483 points separating the pair.
“That first medal of the season has given me lots of motivation for the next steps in the season,” Lamothe told World Aquatics. “I have a lot of things to improve, so it’s very fun to see that all my work paid and I’m still a lot more motivated to even give more and achieve more results in the future.”
She followed that performance with an even more dominant display in the Women’s Solo Free event. Performing her Tourner dans le vide themed routine, Lamothe dazzled the judges and earned a score of 247.0625, winning by a margin of 10.3600 points.
“It’s feeling amazing because I put a lot of work into, not just the past season, but the past years and I feel this weekend, it’s very rewarding for me,” Lamothe shared. “It gives me lots of encouragement for the next season and motivates to me think about giving my best at every training (session) and to be the best I can as an athlete.”
Team Canada returns to podium
In the Team Technical event, Canada swam to a third position, good for the bronze medal in their first outing of the year. Swimming to their Celine Dion-themed routine, the Canadians shared the podium with Mexico (gold) and the USA (silver).
Promising debut for young duet
Charlie Breault and Lily Bernier made a strong first impression together on the senior international stage. The young Canadian duet swam to a top nine finish in the Duet Technical event, delivering a composed performance in their first World Cup outing as a pair.
The next stop for the National Team is an appearance in Quebec City, QC, where the team will perform exhibition swims at the 2026 National Qualifier. Canada will host the World Cup season’s crowning event, the Artistic Swimming Super Final, at the Toronto Pan Am Sports Centre in Toronto, ON, June 19-21. Ticket sales will start in May.