Sport Shorts: A Barrel of Firsts
Title Defended: Canadian tennis player Daniel Nestor won his second consecutive men’s doubles title at the French open on Saturday. Paired with Max Mirnyi of Belarus, the duo defeated Colombia’s Juan Sebastian Cabal and Argentina’s Eduardo Schwank 7-6 (3), 3-6, 6-4. The win marks Nestor’s third doubles title at Roland Garros in five years, dating back to his first triumph in 2007.
Headed to the Hall: Cross-country skier Beckie Scott can add another large honour to her Olympic medals. The Canmore, Alta. native was one of three individuals named to the Canadian Ski Hall of Fame last week. Scott has won 17 World Cup medals, a gold medal at the 2002 Olympics in Salt Lake City and a silver medal four years later in Turin. Scott will be inducted along with alpine skier Laurie Kreiner, as well as Mark Labow, a developer of the Canadian Ski Patrol System, in the fall.
Still on Top: The number-one ranked triathlete has done it again. Canada’s Paula Findlay won the second triathlon race on the World Championship series calendar in Madrid on Sunday. Findlay completed the gruelling course – which features a 1.5 km swim, 40 km bike race and 10 km run – with a time of 2:03:46. The victory was Findlay’s second straight and fourth in five races, giving her the most wins ever by a female athlete on the World Championship series.
Gold in the Water: The Canadian synchronized swimming team is coming home from the Brazil Open with a trio of gold medals. Marie-Pier Boudreau-Gagnon (Rivière-du-Loup, Que.) and Elise Marcotte (l’Ancienne-Lorette, Que.) took top spot in duet over the host nation with 188.551 points, while also helping the team claim gold with 188.389 points, to finish ahead of France. Boudreau-Gagnon later won the solo event to give Canada all three titles at the competition.
First at the Finish Line: Canada has another cycling victory. Tory Nyhaug (Coquitlam, BC) won the category 5 men’s race over Kurt James (New Zealand) at the Canadian BMX Open in Abbotsford, B.C. Sunday. Nyhaug, Canada’s top BMX rider has also won a bronze medal in the time trials at the opening World Cup event in South Africa.
