Sport Shorts: Records, Awards and a Close Second
Records Fall in Montreal: At the Canada Cup swimming competition in Montreal last weekend, Vancouver’s Annamay Pierse swam the 100-metre breaststroke faster than any Canadian had, ever. Pierse lowered her own record in the event to 1:07.31, besting the mark of 1:07.78 she set at the Rio 2007 Pan American Games. Not to be outdone, Montreal’s Victoria Poon set two new Canadian records in the 50-metre freestyle and 50-metre butterfly events. Montreal fans had lots to cheer about, as hometowners Jennifer Carroll, Audrey Lacroix, Barbara Jardin, Geneviève Saumur, Stephanie Horner and Mathieu Bois all won their events.
Dancevic’s Run Ends: One more victory and he would have been the third-ever Canadian tennis player to win an ATP Tour event. But Frank Dancevic (Niagara Falls) couldn’t get past world No. 27 Dmitry Tursunov on June 20, dropping the match 6-3, 7-6. Still, the international event at Eastbourne, England proved very successful for Dancevic, as he defeated both the top seed and the fourth seed on the way to the final.
Into Wimbledon: Canada’s four top tennis players are prepared for action on the grass courts of Wimbledon, which starts today. Aleksandra Wozniak (Blainville, Que.) is the No. 23 seed on the women’s side. She is joined by Stéphanie Dubois of Laval, Que. In the men’s tournament, Toronto’s Daniel Nestor aims for his second straight doubles title with Serbian partner Nenad Zimonjic. And Frank Dancevic aims to continue his hot streak today against Belgium’s Steve Darcis.
Four Skaters Take Top Honours: Last Saturday night, Speed Skating Canada handed out its annual awards and four of Canada’s top Olympic hopefuls walked away as Skaters of the Year. In short track, Charles Hamelin (Ste-Julie, Que.) and Jessica Gregg (Edmonton) won, with Hamelin the 500-metre world champion and third overall in the world and Gregg enjoying a breakthrough season that included a World Cup gold and a World Championship bronze. In long track, Denny Morrison (Fort St. John, B.C.) and Kristina Groves (Ottawa) won the award thanks to a long list of medals won in World Cups and World Championships. Xiuli Wang (Calgary) and Sébastien Cros (Montreal) were Female and Male Coach of the Year.
Music Meets Sport: The MuchMusic Video awards on Sunday night in Toronto had an acutely Olympic flare to them. Four Olympians took part in the celebrations. Figure skaters Joannie Rochette (Ile Dupas, Que.) and Tessa Virtue (London, Ont., a top 2010 hopeful) helped present Pop Video of the Year, while bobsleigh athlete Heather Moyse (Summerside, P.E.I.), snowboarder Brad Martin (Hamilton) and 2006 Olympic bronze figure skater Jeffrey Buttle (Smooth Rock Falls, Ont.) joined the festivities.
