Canada hosted the third stop of the World Aquatics Artistic Swimming Cup last weekend at the Pan Am Centre in Markham, Ontario. More than 100 artistic swimmers from 15 nations were on hand to take part in 11 events as they continue their preparation for the year-end Super Final in July and, ultimately, the Olympic Games in August.
Team Canada delighted the crowds with inspiring performances in the team, duet and solo events.
In the team events, Canada continued to fine-tune its Olympic preparation by showcasing its technical, free and acrobatic programs, winning medals in each event along the way. Consistently working to find the best balance between artistry and difficulty, Canada achieved the highest Degree of Difficulty of any country in the competition in the Team Free event, culminating in a record 326.2981 points.
In the duet events, the newly formed pair of Jacqueline Simoneau and Audrey Lamothe built on their bronze medal success at the Paris World Cup, capturing silver in both the technical and free events. In the technical duet, Canada was just 0.02 points behind the World Champion duet from Austria, with an impressive performance garnering 248.3350 points.
The event also offered the opportunity for the hometown crowd to witness freshly-minted World Champion Jacqueline Simoneau compete in solo. She did not disappoint, thrilling fans by capturing gold and silver in the solo events.
“It was an absolutely phenomenal feeling to be able to swim this brand-new routine on home soil in front of my friends, family, and loved ones, and obviously the amazing Canadian crowd that we have here today,” Simoneau told World Aquatics.
Team Canada was the largest delegation in the event, bringing 2 full teams and a total of 16 athletes to Markham. This experience was invaluable for the next generation of athletes at the national training centre, building on their junior competition experience with senior international performances. The artistic swimmers representing Canada captured a total of one gold, five silver, and one bronze medal to the delight of the hometown crowd.
The Markham World Cup was the third stop on the World Cup tour and the final chance for Canadians to cheer on the team before they head to the Olympics this summer. The final Olympic team selection will be announced by the Canadian Olympic Committee on Monday, June 10th. Stay tuned for more exciting artistic swimming news with Team Canada.