Weekend Roundup: Rogers leads Canadian athletes making history at world championships
The World Athletics Championships are underway in Eugene, Oregon and several Team Canada athletes have already made history, highlighted by the performances from a couple of Cams on Sunday.
Elsewhere, two Canadian judokas were golden in Zagreb, Hugo Houle came oh so close to a stage win at the Tour de France, and the stage is set for a big Canada-USA rivalry game in women’s soccer.
Here’s a quick look back at the action:
Athletics: Rogers wins Canada’s first medal at worlds 🏃♀️🏃♂️
Camryn Rogers made history on Sunday when she won silver in the women’s hammer throw. Her best throw of 75.52 metres made her not only the first Canadian woman to win a world championship medal in hammer throw, but the first Canadian woman to win a world championship medal in any field event. Teammate Jillian Weir placed a very impressive fifth with her best effort of 72.41m.
READ: Rogers claims historic silver in hammer throw
It was also on Sunday that Cam Levins shattered his own Canadian record in the men’s marathon, shaving more than two minutes off his previous national mark. His time of 2:07:09 saw him cross the finish line in fourth place, the highest placement ever for a Canadian male marathoner at the world championships.
In the 10,000m, Mohammed Ahmed matched his result from Tokyo 2020 and the 2019 World Athletics Championships with another sixth place finish. He still has the 5000m to come in which he is the reigning Olympic silver medallist and world bronze medallist.
In the women’s shot put, Sarah Mitton scored Canada’s all-time best result at the world championships with her fourth-place finish. Her best throw of 19.77m actually tied her with Jessica Schilder of the Netherlands for third, but the Dutch athlete took the bronze in a tiebreaker. Her second best throw travelled farther than Mitton’s second best.
Aaron Brown was the top Canadian in the men’s 100m as he finished eighth after qualifying for his second straight world championship final in the distance. Andre De Grasse, who is just recently recovered from COVID-19, did not advance from the semifinals and has reportedly decided to withdraw from the 200m. Brown will be in those heats on Monday.
Soccer: Rivalry match set at Concacaf Championship ⚽️
Team Canada got the best of Jamaica in their semifinal at the Concacaf Women’s Championship, winning by a score of 3-0 on Thursday. Jessie Fleming, Allysha Chapman, and Adriana Leon all tallied goals for Canada in the win.
READ: Canada will face USA for an Olympic berth in women’s soccer
The win sets the stage for a rematch versus top-seed USA in the final, which will take place Monday night with a spot at Paris 2024 on the line. Canada took down the U.S. in the Tokyo 2020 semifinal by a score of 1-0.
Judo: Two Canadian golds in Croatia 🇭🇷
Two Canadian judokas took home gold medal at the Zagreb Grand Prix in Croatia. Christa Deguchi won the gold in the women’s -57kg category after defeating Eteri Liparteliani of Georgia. Catherine Beauchemin-Pinard earned Team Canada’s second gold medal with a win in the women’s -63kg event The victory marked her second career Grand Prix gold.
READ: Deguchi battles to gold at the Judo Grand Prix in Zagreb
READ: Beauchemin-Pinard claims Canada’s second gold medal at Judo Grand Prix
Road cycling: Houle rides to 3rd in Stage 13 of Tour de France 🇫🇷 🚲
Hugo Houle had an impressive ride on Friday as he finished third in Stage 13 of the Tour de France. The cyclist from Sainte-Perpetue, Quebec was in the lead group of three riders that broke away from the pack with 20 kilometres to go in the stage. The only Canadian to win a Tour de France stage is Steve Bauer, who did it in 1988.
World Games: 4 medals in water skiing 🚤
Team Canada had a big medal haul on the water at the World Games in Birmingham, Alabama.
Neilly Ross led the Canadians with a gold medal in the women’s water ski tricks event. Taryn Grant (silver – women’s jump), Jaimee Bull (silver – women’s slalom), and Cole McCormick (bronze – men’s slalom) also won water ski medals, which is a sport included at the Pan American Games.
The World Games are an international multi-sport competition providing a competitive opportunity for athletes who participate in sports and compete in events that are not part of the Olympic program. Other notable Canadian results include gold medals for the men’s and women’s lacrosse teams.
