Weekend Roundup: World Cup win for BMXer Simpson, more Canadian badminton history for Lai
It was a winning weekend for Team Canada athletes in several sports.
Molly Simpson was spectacular in her return to the BMX track on which she raced to her first World Cup victory. Victor Lai earned the biggest title of his young badminton career. And the Canadian women’s rugby sevens team bounced back from heartbreak to earn a spot on the world championship podium.
Here’s a look back at the action you might have missed.
BMX: Simpson rides to win in World Cup opener
Molly Simpson kicked off the UCI BMX Racing World Cup season in style, reaching the podium twice in Sarrians, France. She won Saturday’s season opener, edging out Denmark’s Malene Kejlstrup and Australia’s Saya Sakakibara in a tight women’s final. Simpson is no stranger to success on this track, which was the site of her first career World Cup victory last year.
On Sunday, Simpson finished second to Sakakibara. The World Cup heads to Papendal, Netherlands next weekend for two more rounds of racing.
On the road, Isabella Holmgren continued her breakthrough season at the Giro d’Italia Women, one of the sport’s premier stage races. The 21-year-old Canadian was among the race’s top climbers, held the young rider classification lead for part of the race, and delivered several standout performances against some of the world’s best riders.
Magdeleine Vallières Mill also impressed at the Giro d’Italia Women, finishing 12th overall in the general classification and recording multiple strong stage results, including an eighth-place finish on Stage 5 and a top-10 finish on the final stage.
Badminton: Lai makes more history with big win
Victor Lai took home the men’s singles title at the Indonesia Open, defeating home favourite Jonatan Christie 21-19, 21-8 in the final. He becomes the first Canadian to ever win a BWF Super 1000 event. It’s his first career BWF World Tour title. Lai advanced to the final after a 77-minute battle with Chou Tien Chen of Chinese Taipei in the semifinals, which Lai won 21-19, 19-21, 21-19.
“I never would have imagined I would win a Super 1000 title and for it to be my first, I’m dreaming still,” said Lai.
The 21-year-old has been rising the ranks over the last 18 months. His biggest breakthrough up til now was winning Canada’s first ever world championship medal in badminton last August.
Rugby: Canada claims SVNS World Championship bronze
The Canadian women’s sevens team finished third at the third leg of the SVNS World Championship in Bordeaux, France. They defeated the United States 21-19 in the third-place playoff game. Charity Williams scored two tries while Asia Hogan-Rochester got one along with two converts.
It was a great bounce back victory for the team after a heartbreaking 19-17 loss to New Zealand in the semifinals. Canada held a 17-12 lead with only seconds remaining, but a penalty gave New Zealand possession, and they scored on the final play of the match.
“The team got together when we came off the field and our captain, Florence [Symonds], gathered everyone and said ‘We’re going to get through this because we have each other’s backs and we’re going to move forward together.’ It was just an amazing display of leadership from her,” said head coach Jocelyn Barrieau.
After finishing fourth in the first two legs of the world championship, the win over the Americans moved Canada past both the United States and France in the overall standings to secure the bronze medal.
Athletics: Diamond League podiums for Arop and Mitton
Marco Arop made his season debut at the Diamond League meet in Stockholm, Sweden where he finished second to 17-year-old American Cooper Lutkenhaus in the men’s 800m. Arop’s time of 1:43.11 left him 0.41 back of Lutkenhaus.
Sarah Mitton finished third in the women’s shot put. Her best distance of 19.89m put her on the podium behind Jessica Schilder of the Netherlands, who threw 20.89m for the victory, and American Chase Jackson, who beat Mitton by two centimetres.
Camryn Rogers remains undefeated in women’s hammer throw this season. On Wednesday she threw 80.09m to win the Paavo Nurmi Games in Turku, Finland. She then threw 79.36m on Saturday at the USATF Lone Star Grand Prix in College Station, Texas.
Volleyball
Canada’s women’s volleyball team opened the Volleyball Nations League in Québec City with a strong performance, earning historic victories over the United States and France. The Canadians swept the Americans for their first-ever VNL win against their North American rivals before defeating France in four sets to finish the week with a 2–1 record.
