In her first international final in more than two years, artistic swimmer Jacqueline Simoneau shone, capturing the title of vice-world champion in technical solo.
The Quebecer achieved the feat on Saturday, in Doha, Qatar, by finishing second in this first artistic swimming final presented as part of the World Aquatic Sports Championships.
Third during the qualifications held the day before, Simoneau modified his strategy somewhat before the presentation of the final. Only Evangelina Platanioti (272.9633), from Greece, managed to do better than her with her score of 269.2767 on Saturday. Chinese Huiyan Xu (262.3700) completed the podium. This is the very first medal of Simoneau’s career at the Senior World Championships.
“I couldn’t ask for a better return to sport. I am very, very happy! Compared to the preliminaries, I increased my level of difficulty by four points. It’s a decision I had to make to stay on the podium. I stayed underwater for a long time, I did more spins and it paid off,” explained Simoneau in an interview with Sportcom.
PHOTO EVGENIA NOVOZHENINA, REUTERS
Jacqueline Simoneau
I want to be able to share this medal with all those who helped me during my career, whether it be my parents, my grandparents, the coaches or my teachers. It is thanks to them that I won this medal and I want to take the time to thank them.
Jacqueline Simoneau
Before her second place today, Simoneau had never finished better than fifth at the World Championships, a feat she achieved four times. According to the 27-year-old athlete, part of the explanation lies in the scoring system that has changed in artistic swimming in recent years.
“It’s a combination of several things, including the scoring system. Previously, there were no points associated with difficulty level. I believe that sport has become much more objective than in the past. Taking two years off also helped. »
PHOTO LEE JIN-MAN, ASSOCIATED PRESS
Jacqueline Simoneau underwater
Competing at the World Championships this year, Simoneau’s main goal was to help Canada qualify for the Paris Olympics. Even if the technical solo is not part of the Olympic qualification process, this result gives confidence to the Quebecer, but also to the entire Canadian team in achieving this goal.
“It’s great to be on the podium in the first competition. We have confidence in ourselves for the future. I am very happy to have Audrey Lamothe by my side during this process, we can share our experience. We are mentally ready for the next events,” she rejoiced.
Simoneau will also be in action later this week in the free solo, but also in all the duo performances with Lamothe. They also placed eighth in the technical duo qualifications and will participate in the final scheduled for Monday.
At the very end of the day on Saturday, in Doha, the Canadians participated in the qualifications for the acrobatic team events. Quebecers Laurianne Imbeau and Raphaëlle Plante, along with their teammates Sydney Carroll, Scarlett Finn, Jonnie Newman, Kenzie Priddell, Claire Scheffel and Olena Verbinska, ranked fourth (220.8768).
They were only beaten by the Chinese (247.0233), the Ukrainians (243.2134) and the Mexicans (225.0267). The finals of the acrobatic team events will take place this Sunday.