Volleyball Canada
Volleyball Canada

Canadian Roundup: An Olympic berth, national record and more

Team Canada athletes appear to be peaking at just the right time, registering season’s best performances with Rio 2016 just around the corner.

Additionally, at a sunny Olympic Trials, Canada’s final beach volleyball pair was selected for the Games in Brazil this summer.

Beach Volleyball

READ: Binstock and Schachter are headed to Rio

Josh Binstock and Sam Schachter are heading to Rio 2016, after winning Volleyball Canada’s Olympic Trials on Saturday. The duo defeated Grant O’Gorman and Sam Pedlow 2-1 (20-22, 21-17, 15-12) at the tournament in North Bay, after teaming up last week to earn Canada a historic – and unprecedented – fourth beach volleyball Olympic spot. 

Athletics

READ: Bishop breaks national record

Athletics Canada’s best are gaining international notice with Melissa Bishop and Derek Drouin leading the way this weekend. On Friday night, Bishop broke her Canadian 800m record on home soil, in a time of one minute, 57.43 seconds. The next day world high jump champion Drouin, cleared a season’s best height of 2.38 metres in Germany. The pair’s recent performances rank them third in the IAAF world standings in their respective disciplines.

Synchronized Swimming

Karine Thomas and Jacqueline Simoneau won bronze at the Synchro America Open over the weekend. The Canadians went up against five duet pairs who will be competing at Rio 2016 this summer.

Triathlon

Tyler Mislawchuk registered a career best performance at a World Triathlon Series event over the weekend. The Canadian placed seventh overall, passing the finish line in 52:51. His performance in Hamburg moved him into eighth in the world rankings.