After her gold medal at the World Artistic Swimming Championships last February in the free solo, Jacqueline Simoneau once again found herself on the highest step of the podium, winning on Friday in the technical solo, at the Coupe du world of Markham, Ontario.
Simoneau earned a score of 256.7950 points for her routine, which had the highest degree of difficulty of all the athletes who competed in the event.
“I really appreciate this medal, but I am most proud of my performance. It was a great experience and sets the tone for the rest of the weekend. I’m underwater for a huge part of my routine, it’s extremely physically demanding, but I’m very happy with the result,” Simoneau shared in an interview with Sportcom.
“I think I only did this routine five times in training, that’s very few. We have mainly focused on the team events in the last few weeks, but it is encouraging to see that I am able to obtain a good result solo despite all that,” she added.
The Quebecer was accompanied on the podium by the Chinese Huiyan Xu (244.2050 points), second, as well as the Slovak Viktoria Reichova (203.2616 points), third.
For Simoneau, this medal is all the more special since it was won at home, in front of his fans.
“It’s so special to win at home! Hearing the Canadian national anthem after a victory in Canada is incredible. It was almost better than my victory at the World Championships in Doha. It’s an indescribable moment! »
I want to savor every moment here. Performances are important, obviously, but to have the chance to participate in a World Cup in Canada, I don’t think I’ll have the chance to experience that again in my career.
Jacqueline Simoneau
Mya Fortin also took part in this event, receiving the fourth highest score with her total of 185.7650 points.
At the end of the day, Simoneau was back in the pool for the technical team event with Sydney Carroll, Scarlett Finn, Audrey Lamothe, Jonnie Newman, Kenzie Priddell, Claire Scheffel and Florence Tremblay. The Canadian team finished in second place with a total of 269.6484 points.
The Chinese won the gold medal with 276.7867 points. The Americans completed the podium (262.7404 points).
A second Canadian team composed of Jeanne Boilard, Léonie Corbeil, Mya Fortin, Georgia Hock, Laurianne Imbeau, Emma McIlwain, Ximena Ortiz Montano and Alicia Réhel was also present during this event. They ranked fifth.
“Having two teams like that in the World Cup is a good sign that our sport is healthy! I am proud to be part of this big family. The next generation is present, the girls are excellent and I am really happy for them,” concluded Simoneau.
The action will resume on Saturday in Markham when the Quebecois will be in action in the free solo program, the technical duo and the team free routine.