Their preparation may not have been optimal, but the Canadian artistic swimmers still managed to stand out at the World Cup in Paris. The team was rewarded with a silver medal for its free program on Saturday, a few hours after Jacqueline Simoneau and Audrey Lamothe won bronze in the free duet.
Scarlett Finn, Audrey Lamothe, Jonnie Newman, Raphaëlle Plante, Kenzie Priddell, Claire Scheffel, Jacqueline Simoneau and Florence Tremblay presented an enhanced program since the World Championships in Doha, where Canada confirmed its qualification for the Paris Olympic Games. A routine offering a higher coefficient of difficulty and which earned them 297.5853 points.
“We had the highest degree of difficulty here. The competition went well, but we know that there is still room for improvement,” Jacqueline Simoneau told Sportcom.
It was the Japanese who won the gold with their 323.3207 points. The Kazakhs received bronze (253, 6353).
The fire at the Olympic Park Sports Center has complicated the task of many athletes in recent weeks. Even if the pool is not Olympic size, the artistic swimmers were able to train at the Cégep du Vieux Montréal before attending a preparatory camp in Montceau-les-Mines, in France. They also had to adapt to the absence of Olena Verbinska, injured in her back.
“Despite all the obstacles, we were able to adjust quickly and seek a medal on the international scene. It just shows how resilient the Canadian team is,” Simoneau shared with pride. We didn’t have many expectations coming here. The objective is above all to test our routines and their degree of difficulty. »
It was the second medal for the Montrealer on Saturday, she who won bronze alongside Audrey Lamothe, in the free duet. They had also finished third the day before in technical duo.
Simoneau and Lamothe accumulated 238.2876 points in the test event of the Paris Olympic Games. Austrians Anna-Maria and Elrini-Marina Alexandri won gold (265.9646), while Ukrainians Maryna and Vladyslava Aleksiiva received silver (243.9354).
“We are satisfied with the two medals, but we know that we still have a lot of work to do between now and the Olympics. We haven’t had much training and we aim for a new standard each competition. We made mistakes, we are aware of them and we will work to correct them before the next World Cup in Markham,” mentioned Jacqueline Simoneau, highlighting the exceptional talent of her partner in passing. Their progress has never stopped since they started swimming together this winter.
The Paris World Cup will have served as preparation for the Olympic Games, since the athletes will find the same facilities in a few months, from the warm-up zone to the mixed zone.
The event will end on Sunday with the team acrobatic program, an event in which the Canadians placed fourth at the last world championships.