| Canada one step closer to Olympic berth in team event for synchronized swimming |
|
GUADALAJARA – Canada built a healthy lead in the team preliminary round in synchronized swimming on Wednesday as it looks to finalize its Olympic berth at the Pan American Games. The Canadians totalled 94.875 points with the U.S., second at 89.750 and Brazil third at 87.625. The preliminaries count for 50 percent of the final mark. Swimming for Canada were Jo-Annie Fortin of Montreal, Stéphanie Leclair of Gatineau, Que., Tracy Little of Pointe-Claire, Que., Élise Marcotte of l’Ancienne-Lorette, Que., Karine Thomas of Gatineau, Que., Valérie Welsh of St-Nicolas, Que., Chloe Isaac of Brossard, Que., and Marie-Pier Boudreau-Gagnon of Rivière-du-Loup, Que. ‘’This was an Olympic worthy performance,’’ said Canada’s coach Julie Sauvé. ‘’It was almost perfect. We were ahead of our closest opponents by five points. In 2007 we were neck and neck with them. It’s like we had won a hockey game 5-0.’’ Welsh said the Canadians were ready. ‘’We were calm in the water,’’ she said. ‘’That was important because it allowed us to reproduce what we had been doing in practice. Even on start platform we knew we were going to swim well. We are very confident.’’ Marcotte was also pleased. ‘’It was a great performance,’’ she said. ‘’We swam as a team and showed we were at another level. Fifty percent of our Olympic qualifying is now complete.’’ Competition continues Thursday with the duet final. Boudreau-Gagnon and Marcotte are in first place after Tuesday’s preliminaries. The gold medallists earn a country Olympic quota spot as well. The team final is Friday. About Synchro Canada Synchro Canada is the national organization governing synchronized swimming in Canada. It represents 10 provincial associations, a territorial association, as well as some 150 clubs and 12,000 members across Canada. A member of FINA, the world’s governing aquatic sports organization, Synchro Canada promotes the quest for excellence by developing the athletes, citizens and ambassadors of the sport of synchronized swimming at every level. For further information, visit Synchro Canada’s Website at www.synchro.ca or follow Synchro Canada on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube. For information: Patrick Godbout Synchro Canada Communications Manager Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it Cell in Mexico: 011-52-33-3952-6313 Website : www.synchro.ca Facebook: Synchro Canada Twitter : www.twitter.com/synchrocanada |
