Sport Shorts: Canadian Divers Win Four Medals in Montreal
Winning Gold at Home: Two-time Olympic silver medallist Alexandre Despatie (Laval, Que.) executed a near-perfect final dive on Sunday to win gold in the 3-metre event at a FINA Grand Prix stop in Montreal. He was awarded near-perfect marks to score 525.25 points, ahead of China’s Shixin Li at 524.10. It is the veteran’s third medal so far this season, and it’s only part of the great display Montreal fans were treated to over the weekend.
Also Sunday, Emilie Heymans (St-Lambert, Que.) and Jennifer Abel (Laval) won silver in 3-metre synchro. Up-and-coming Victoria pair Rachel Kemp and Morgan Weller were sixth. On Saturday, Despatie teamed with Regina’s Reuben Ross to win gold in 3-metre synchro – the duo’s first-ever win at a major event. They won bronze at last year’s World Championships. On the women’s side, Roseline Filion (Laval) and Meaghan Benfeito (Montreal) won silver in 10-metre synchro, their fourth medal this season. Montreal pair Pamela Ware and Carol-Ann Ware were sixth. And in 3-metre, Abel and Heymans were fourth and fifth.
Hughes, Brassard, Shewfelt to be Honoured: Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame announced their 2010 inductees and among them are three modern Olympic legends. They are 2004 Olympic gymnastics champion Kyle Shewfelt (Calgary), six-time Olympic medallist Clara Hughes (Glen Sutton, Que.) and 1994 Olympic champion freestyle skier Jean-Luc Brassard (Grande-Île, Que.). Also inducted will be Paralympic legend Chantal Petitclerc whose 21 medals include 14 gold, as well as Own the Podium leader Roger Jackson.
A Rising Star in Athletics: Regina’s Simon Bairu set a new Canadian record in the 10,000 metres Saturday at an athletics event in Palo Alto, Calif. His time of 27:23.63 bested the previous record of 27:36.01 set by two-time Olympian Jeff Schieber nine years ago. Watch for Bairu in London 2012.
Pendrel Sits Fifth Overall: Catharine Pendrel (Kamloops, B.C.) finished fifth Sunday at a mountain bike World Cup in Houffalize, Belgium. Sixth last week, the 2008 Olympian is now fifth overall this season. Teammate Emily Batty (Brooklin, Ont.) was 19th on Sunday.
Double Gold in Trampoline: Canada’s prowess in the trampoline continued on Sunday as Toronto’s Jason Burnett and Karen Cockburn both won gold at the Pacific Rim Gymnastics Championships in Melbourne, Australia. Teammate Rosannagh MacLennan (Toronto) added a bronze medal. In other senior events, Dominique Pegg (Sarnia, Ont.) won gold in vault while Kristina Vaculk (Whitby, Ont.) captured bronze in floor.
