Canadian roundup: Winter & summer sports collide
This is the time of year when winter and summer sports start to collide, which is good news for Team Canada fans hungry for international results – and this past weekend provided plenty.
Harvey hits a double
In Falun, Sweden over the weekend, Alex Harvey became the first Canadian cross-country skier to win two medals at one world championship. After opening the competition with a silver medal in the sprint, Harvey won third place in the skiathlon on Saturday.
Alex Harvey (right) on the podium with Maxim Vylegzhanin (centre) and Dario Cologna (photo: Falun2015.com).
“Before (Falun) I had only got two medals overall in the World Championships. Now I have taken two medals in three days,” Harvey said after his bronze medal run. The compeition continues through March 1.
Divers dip for four
Meaghan Benfeito led the way in Rostock, Germany with two gold medals for Team Canada as divers dipped in for their first FINA Grand Prix of the season.
Meaghan Benfeito & Roseline Filion dive their way to 10m synchro gold at the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games.
In total Canada won four medals, as Benfeito won a synchro gold with Roseline Filion to follow an individual triumph. Jenn Abel won an individual bronze, then one in synchro with Pamela Ware. Their next major international competition is likely to be in Beijing March 13-15, when the World Series calendar begins.
Queen Christabel sets new mark
Last week Canadian long jumper Christabel Nettey set a new Canadian women’s indoor long jump record of 6.99m winning a meet in Stockholm, Sweden (she also shattered the national outdoor record of 6.82). Over the weekend, Nettey followed up her Swedish success with a Grand Prix silver medal in Birmingham, England.
Christabel Nettey (left) with Jazmin Sawyers of Great Britain at the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games. Sawyers won silver, Nettey took bronze in the long jump.
Nettey, the 23-year old Commonwealth Games bronze medallist, reached 6.84 but was bettered by English heptathlete Katarina Johnson-Thompson’s 6.93. The Canadian still holds the longest jump of the year, however, and to put the 6.99 in perspective, it would’ve been enough for a bronze medal at London 2012.
Cyclists claim a pair
Canada comes home from the Track Cycling World Championships with a pair of medals in the team pursuit and the women’s scratch race.
Three quarters of the pursuit team at the points race of the omnium in Milton Velodrome in early 2015 (L-R) Allison Beveridge, Stephanie Roorda, Jasmin Glaesser.
The team of Allison Beveridge, Jasmin Glaesser, Kirsti Lay, Stephanie Roorda raced to a bronze in the pursuit, beating New Zealand. Then over the weekend Beveridge claimed third place in the scratch.
Air+Style triple
Three Canadians found the podium at the Air+Style competition in Los Angeles for many of the world’s best snowboarders and freeskiers.
Sebastien Toutant receiving his Olympic Team jacket after he was nominated for Sochi 2014.
Sébastien Toutant was second in the snowboard final, an event that saw four Canadians finish in the top eight. Among the skiers, Canadians Alex Bellemare and Vincent Gagnier were second and third. In more snowboard news, back at home Canada Snowboard hosted a FIS World Cup competition.
Edney sprints to silver
Olympian Samuel Edney won silver in a Sprint World Cup race in Altenberg, Germany. This is a one-run competition where the lugers’ time is clocked from the 100-metre mark. The result doesn’t count toward the traditional World Cup series, but is accumulated for the sprints point totals.
Judo jumps in with bronze
Staying in Germany, Kelita Zupancic won a bronze medal at the Dusseldorf Grand Prix in the women’s 70 kg division. She was ranked fourth in the world heading into competition as the Rio 2016 Olympic qualification process is already underway in judo.
Modern pentathlon prowess
Melanie McCann and Joshua Riker-Fox won a bronze in the mixed relay at a World Cup modern pentathlon competition in Florida. The mixed relay is not an Olympic event, however it has been contested at the youth level.
