Canadian artistic swimmers made their debut at the World Aquatics Championships on Sunday in Doha, Qatar, placing fourth in the acrobatic routine final.
Quebecers Raphaëlle Plante and Laurianne Imbeau as well as their teammates Sydney Carroll, Scarlett Finn, Jonnie Newman, Kenzie Priddell, Claire Scheffer and Olena Verbinska received a score of 222.1367 points on Sunday to finish just off the podium.
The Canadians reacted strongly to the announcement of their score, visibly happy with the turn of events. Screams, smiles and hugs were there a few moments after they came out of the water.
“We are really, really happy with our performance. This is a good starting point for the other events of the week. We didn’t have any big problems or deductions during the routine. Our chemistry is amazing, we’re all on the same page. It makes us very proud,” commented Raphaëlle Plante, in an interview with Sportcom.
PHOTO LEE JIN-MAN, ASSOCIATED PRESS
The Chinese (244.1767 points) won the gold medal, beating the Ukrainians (243.3167) by less than one point. The Americans finished on the third step of the podium with their 242.2300 points.
At the 2023 Worlds in this same event, the Canadians finished sixth, a progression which can be explained, according to Raphaëlle Plante, in particular by the experience acquired in recent months, but also by the importance of the competition this year. year, a few months before the Paris Olympic Games.
“Obviously, we have trained a lot since the last World Championships and we have been able to increase the level of difficulty of our routine. Our team culture has improved and we have gained experience. »
Olympic qualification adds stress, but it gives us the desire to be even better. We want to continue our momentum.
Raphaëlle Plante
Besides 26-year-old Kenzie Priddell of Saskatchewan, all other members of the Canadian team who participated in the acrobatic routine this weekend are 21 years old or younger. With this in mind, Raphaëlle Plante says she is happy to be able to count on the presence of Jacqueline Simoneau, recently returned to competition, in the team’s entourage.
“Jacqueline didn’t do the acrobatic routine, but she will be there tomorrow [lundi] for the technical team event. She is such an important asset. She guides us a lot and her experience helps us a lot. It’s good for confidence to have him with us,” said Plante.
Simoneau also participated in the free solo preliminary round on Sunday where she placed third with 248.9189 points. She was beaten by the Austrian Alexandri Vasiliki (253.8625 points) and the Greek Evangelia Platanioti (253.7353 points). The final will take place on Tuesday.
The Quebecer finished third Thursday in the technical solo final.
The team technical routine qualifications will be held on Monday, as will the technical duo final where Jacqueline Simoneau will team up with Audrey Lamothe.