Sport Shorts: Seven-Sport Round-Up
Four Diving Medals: At a Grand Prix event in Madrid, Canadian divers secured four medals in an overall strong performance. The team continues to build strength with the London 2012 Olympic Games only two years off, with some of the younger divers now routinely capturing international medals.
Jennifer Abel (Laval, Que.) won silver in the 3-metre event, continuing her rise up the rankings. Pair Roseline Filion (Laval) and Meaghan Benfeito (Montreal) won silver as well in the 10-metre synchro event. Benfeito wasn’t done yet, as she went on to win an individual silver medal in the 10-metre tower. And in the 3-metre synchro event, Abel and triple Olympic medallist Emilie Heymans (St. Lambert, Que.) won a bronze medal.
Vaughn Chipeur Retires: Edmonton figure skater Vaughn Chipeur has decided to retire from competition, after representing Canada at the 2010 Olympic Winter Games. Chipeur rose through the ranks to become national silver medallist in both 2009 and 2010. He also competed at the 2009 World Championships, finishing 12th. Congratulations and good luck, Vaughn!
Open Water : The world’s best open water swimmers are in Roberval, Que. for the World Championships. In the men’s 10 km race, Richard Weinberger (Victoria) was top Canadian in 13th spot on the waters of Lac St-Jean, a career-best mark. Teammate Simon Tobin (Quebec) was 17th. In the women’s 10 km swim, Nadine Williams (Sherwood Park, Alta.) was top Canadian in 27th spot.
Champions Pendrel, Kabush: Catharine Pendrel (Kamloops, B.C.) and Geoff Kabush (Courtney, B.C.) are 2010 Canadian champions in mountain bike after winning their respective races amid the Rocky Mountains of Canmore, Alta. Pendrel was 4th at the 2008 Olympic Games while Kabush is a two-time Olympian with a top result of 9th in 2000.
Moncton Hosts the World: Olympic gold medallists of the future are in Moncton, N.B. now for the Athletics World Junior Championships. It is the biggest sporting event ever in Atlantic Canada, with athletes from 160 countries in town. Canada’s flag bearer for the event is Caleb Jones (Saint John, N.B.).
Champions Riker-Fox and Vakalis: Joshua Riker-Fox (Delacour, Alta.) and Donna Vakalis (Toronto) are 2010 Canadian champions in modern pentathlon, winning the men’s and women’s crowns in Red Deer, Alberta over the weekend. Riker-Fox finished 24th at the 2008 Olympic Games and is a strong Canadian hope for London 2012. Vakalis is pushing toward her first Olympic appearance.
Whitfield Battles Back: Two-time Olympic medallist Simon Whitfield recovered after a poor swimming portion to post a strong cycle and run to finish a World Championship series triathlon in 12th place. The Victoria native said he is just trying to get back on track and is happy with the result. Teammate Kyle Jones (Oakville, Ont.) finished a strong 16th.
