Canadian Roundup: Gold on the slopes, track and more
From Canadians’ golden start to the pre-Olympic season to summer athletes reaching new milestones, here’s what happened over the weekend.
The details:
Skiing – Half pipe & Giant Slalom
READ: Sharpe and Read win gold in New Zealand
With five months to PyeongChang 2018, Cassie Sharpe, Erik Read and Simon D’Artois each won medals at their first competition of the pre-Olympic season. Sharpe was crowned champion in women’s half-pipe, while Read took home a title of his own in giant slalom. D’Artois also earned a spot on the half-pipe podium, capturing bronze in the men’s event.
Cycling – Track
Canadian cyclists shone in Trinidad and Tobago at the Pan American Championships, bringing home a total of ten medals. Rio 2016 Olympians Hugo Barrette and Allison Beveridge were among Canada’s medallists. Barrette was crowned the men’s sprint champion and landed a Keirin silver, while Beveridge captured bronze in scratch.
Beveridge also wrote page in Canada’s record book with Stephanie Roorda, capturing the nation’s first Pan American title in the women’s division.
Athletics
READ: Newman finishes third at Diamond League final in Brussels
Alysha Newman tied her pole vault Canadian record of 4.75 metres to finish third at Diamond League finals on Friday in Brussels. This podium appearance concluded the Rio 2016 Olympian’s best season of her career.
Tennis
READ: Shapovalov reaches US open fourth round
The only Canadian still in action at the US Open is Olympian Gaby Dabrowski, who will try to reach the women’s doubles and mixed doubles finals. Dabrowski and her Chinese partner Yifan Xu, will face the Czech pair of Lucia Safarova and Barbora Strycova in the quarterfinals on Tuesday, after winning the Connecticut Open last weekend. In tandem Dabrowski with join Indian’s Rohan Bopanna in mixed doubles. The pair will look to duplicate their title winning performance at Roland Garros. Dabrowski will play her mixed doubles quarter-final match today against the Taiwan’s Chan Hao-ching and New Zealand-born Michael Venus.
Canada’s rising star Denis Shapovalov was eliminated from the US Open in the second round after two hours and 54 minutes of play against Spaniard Pablo Carreno Busta. The Canadian was the youngest player since Michael Chang in 1989 to reach the fourth round at Flushing Meadows. With his campaign at the US Open, the 18-year-old will break the top 60 in the world at the end of the ATP standings.
Artistic Gymnastics
Rio 2016 Olympian Shallon Olsen climbed the World Challenge Cup podium twice in Bulgaria. The Canadian won silver medals in both floor and vault. Olsen admitted that her results gives her “confidence for the World Championships and other competitions”. The Canadian also plans to increase her routines difficulty in hopes of winning a medal on home soil at worlds in Montreal.
