Sport Shorts: Canadians Crowned Rowing World Champions
Lightweight World Champions: The latest in a long string of world champion rowers from Canada are Tracy Cameron and Lindsay Jennerich. Together, they form Canada’s best lightweight women’s double and together they won gold at the World Rowing Championships in New Zealand. Cameron (Shubenacadie, N.S.) won bronze in this event at the 2008 Olympic Games, and she surpassed that result with new partner Jennerich (Victoria). That same day, in rough conditions on Lake Karapiro, the lightweight men’s pair captured bronze. In choppy conditions highlighted by gusty winds, Matt Jensen (Innerkip, Ont.) and Rares Crisan (Mississauga) finished 3rd.
On Sunday, the spring weather improved and getting in the spirit was Canada’s women’s eight. The crew won the silver medal, the first medal in this event since 2003. They were about four seconds behind the favourites from the U.S. Canada’s fourth medal came in a para-rowing event, the adaptive coxed four, who won gold. Other excellent results were posted by Cam Sylvester (Caledon, Ont.) and Doug Vandor (Dewittville, Que.), 4th in the lightweight men’s double, and Andreanne Morin (Montreal) and Krista Guloien (Port Moody, B.C.), 5th in the women’s pair.
Gafuik Rocks Croatia: Calgary’s Nathan Gafuik had quite the gymnastics World Cup on Sunday in Croatia. The two-time Olympian won gold on vault and added silver in high bar. Teammate Jackson Payne (Edmonton) won bronze on the high bar. Gafuik is the current Canadian all-around champion.
Off to the World Cup: Canada’s women’s soccer team has punched its ticket to the 2011 World Cup in Germany next summer. The squad did so courtesy of its 4-0 win over Costa Rica in the semifinal of the CONCACAF Women’s World Cup Qualifiers in Mexico. The team looks to cement an undefeated record tonight at 9 p.m. ET in the final of this qualifying tournament. Catch it live on CBC Bold or CBCSports.ca.
Meet Your Sledding Champs: Olympic medallists were the story of the national bobsleigh and skeleton championships in Calgary over the weekend. Calgary’s Helen Upperton (2006 Olympic silver medallist) teamed with Shelley-Ann Brown (Pickering, Ont.) to win gold in women’s bobsleigh. On the men’s side, pilot Lyndon Rush (2010 bronze medallist) won two Canadian titles in the two- and four-man bobsleigh events. And in skeleton, your national champions might sound familiar: Jon Montgomery and Mellisa Hollingsworth. Montgomery (Russell, Man.) is reigning Olympic champion and won the national title on the strength of a personal best start time. Hollingsworth (Eckville, Alta.) won Canada’s first Olympic skeleton medal ever, a bronze in 2006. The full World Cup team will be announced Nov. 18.
Judoka Wins Bronze: Dilyaver Sheykhislyamov (Prince Albert, Sask.) won bronze in the men’s 90 kg event at a Finland Open judo event on Nov. 6. It’s the first European medal for the 21-year-old.
