Weekend Roundup: Team Canada dominates the podium worldwide
From the ice, to the pool, and the gymnastics floor, Team Canada athletes were on top this weekend.
Here is a look at Team Canada’s successful weekend.
Canoe-Kayak Sprint
Saturday, Canada’s Laurence Vincent-Lapointe and Katie Vincent both landed on the podium at the 2019 ICF World Cup event in Poznan, Poland.
On Saturday Vincent-Lapointe won gold in the C1 200m, while Vincent took home the silver.
Feeding off this energy, on Sunday the Canadian paddlers changed dynamics from rivals to a dynamic duo. The pair had a close race with China and Ukraine, but they came out on top to win the gold in the C2 500m with a time of one minute 54.389 seconds.
Athletics – Decathlon
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Repeating of last year’s success, Canadian Damian Warner has done it again and beat his previous national record and won his fifth Gotzis title.
On Saturday, Warner ran the fastest 100m at Gotzis beating his previous time of 10.15 by 0.03 seconds. This accomplishment helped Warner climb to the top spot in the event after one day of competition which ultimately led to his fifth win of the this specific meet.
A total score of 8711, this lucky number five win has allowed Warner to became the third athlete to ever win five titles at the Gotzis (100 metre hurdles, discus, pole vault, javelin and 1500 metre).
Ice Hockey
READ: Team Canada wins silver at IIHF World Championship
During the final game on Sunday at Ondrej Nepela Arena, Team Canada ended the IIHF World Championship with a silver after falling 3-1 to Finland in the final.
BRATISLAVA, SLOVAKIA – MAY 26: Canada’s Shea Theodore #27 celebrates after scoring a first period goal against Finland’s Kevin Lankinen #30 while Sakari Manninen #65, Niko Ojamaki #20 and Kyle Turris #19 look on during gold medal game action at the 2019 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship at Ondrej Nepela Arena on May 26, 2019 in Bratislava, Slovakia. (Photo by Andre Ringuette/HHOF-IIHF Images)
Leading to the gold medal match, unexpectedly the Finnish team was able to battle their way to the top after defeating powerhouses like Sweden and Russia. Canada started strong with a goal in the first period by a Shea Theodore to take the first lead of a game.
Although after the second period, the Finn’s were able to tie up the score which led to them securing their lead in the third.
While a disappointing ending for Canada, after an ionic overtime win in the quarterfinals, Team Canada was able to win eight consecutive games, finishing the tournament with an 8-2 record. Canada’s Mark Stone was also named the tournament MVP after leading the tournament with eight goals and earned a team-high 14 points. Anthony Mantha also had a memorable performance, with 14 points in 9 games.
Cycling
Biker Hayley Smith cycled to her first career podium for a bronze medal in Nové Mesto Na Morave, Czech Republic.
Judo
On Friday, Team Canada took home two medals at the Hohhot Grand Prix. Jessica Klimkait (-52kg) and Ecaterina Guica (-57kg) both picked up a bronze medal.
Over the weekend, Kelita Zupancic (70 kg) and Arthur Margelidon (73 kg) each captured bronze at the Judo Grand Prix in Hohhot.
On the men’s team, Margelidon had a consistent performance with 3 victories in the preliminary rounds. Ultimately, Margelidon would capture the bronze by waza-ari against his teammate Antoine Bouchard.
On the women’s team, Kelita Zupancic had a score of 1 victory and 1 loss in the preliminaries. In the end, the Whitby native won with an ippon against Greek Elisavet Teltsidou.
Tennis
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Canada continued their success over the weekend in tennis. Gaby Dabrowski and partner Xu Yifan became Nuremberg Cup Champions after defeating fellow Canadian, Sharon Fichman and Nicole Melichar 4-6, 7-6(5), [10-5] in the doubles tournament.
A career high, Auger-Aliassime showcased his dominance on the clay and accomplished his third ATP semi-final. Unfortunately the 18-year-old fell in the Lyon Final after a tough match against France’s Benoît Paire at the ATP tournament.
Artistic Gymnastics
Ellie Black continued to showcase her talent in the sport at the 2019 Canadian Championships this weekend in Ottawa.
Earlier in the tournament, to amp up the difficulty the Nova Scotia native announced that she will be making changes to her vault and floor routine. Working to her advantage, Black was able to accomplish a total score of 112.065 points and win her sixth all-around National Championship.
After a fall on the beam on the first day of competition, Black was trailing Padurariu, but regained her momentum to capture her national title again after Padurariu fell on beam on day two.
Sharing the podium with Black, Ana Padurariu of Whitby, ON captured the silver, while Brooklyn Moors of Cambridge, ON took the bronze.
Golf
Brooke Henderson had a successful weekend at the Pure Silk Championship in, Virginia after tying for second with Sweden’s Madelene Sagström and Japan’s Nasa Hataoka.
Henderson has eight career LPGA victories, and is one LPGA win away from setting a new Canadian record.
Artistic Swimming
Canadian women continued to make waves internationally! Together, Jacqueline Simoneau and Claudia Holzner won the twice with both the technical and free duets. Simoneau took home silver in her individual events, the technical and freestyle solos.
