Weekend Roundup: Phil Wizard breaks through for gold, Derek Gee breaks out at Giro d’Italia
While it was a holiday weekend at home, many Team Canada athletes were putting up some great showings in Europe.
Canadian swimmers continued their medal-winning ways in Barcelona and Monaco to wrap up the Mare Nostrum Swim Tour. In France, B-Boy Phil Wizard made some magic at the Breaking for Gold World Series. Meanwhile, Derek Gee has become the breakout story at the Giro d’Italia.
All that, plus find out how Andre De Grasse performed at the latest World Continental Tour event as you check out what else you might have missed.
Breaking: B-Boy Phil Wizard gets first BFG World Series win
B-Boy Phil Wizard (aka Philip Kim) won the Breaking for Gold World Series event in Montpellier, France. He defeated B-Boy Shigekix of Japan 3-0 in the final.
READ: Phil Wizard grabs gold at Breaking for Gold World Series
It is his first victory on the circuit, which is a crucial pathway towards Olympic qualification for Paris 2024. The top 14 men and top 14 women in the Breaking for Gold rankings will be eligible to compete in next year’s Olympic Qualifier Series. B-Boy Phil Wizard now holds onto top spot in those rankings. Canada’s top finisher in the women’s event in Montpellier was B-Girl Tiff (aka Tiffany Leung) who placed 10th. That ranks her 20th in the Breaking for Gold standings.
Swimming: Lots of Mare Nostrum medals
The Mare Nostrum Swim Tour finished up with stops in Barcelona and Monaco.
Canadian swimmers earned eight medals in Barcelona, headlined by Ingrid Wilm’s pair of golds in the women’s 50m and 100m backstroke events. Maggie Mac Neil and Katerine Savard won silver and bronze, respectively, to share the podium in the women’s 100m butterfly. Mary-Sophie Harvey (silver) and Finlay Knox (bronze) stood on the podium in their respective 200m IMs. Ella Jensen won 400m freestyle gold and 200m freestyle silver.
At the final stop in Monaco, Canadians captured 10 medals. Wilm swam her way to two more gold medals in the 100m and 50m backstrokes. Savard also added to the medal haul, securing gold in the women’s 100m butterfly. Harvey and Brooklyn Douthwright won silver and bronze, respectively, in the women’s 200m freestyle. Harvey added another silver in the women’s 200m IM, Ruslan Gaziev captured men’s 100m freestyle silver, and Knox won the men’s 200m IM silver. Emma O’Croinin swam to a bronze medal in the women’s 400m freestyle and Lorne Wigginton won the men’s 400m IM bronze medal.
The next competition for many of those swimmers will be the World Aquatics Championships in Fukuoka, Japan, where the pool events get underway on June 22.
Road Cycling: Another second place for Derek Gee in the Giro d’Italia
Derek Gee continues to impress in his first ever Grand Tour. In Saturday’s 14th stage, the Canadian came close to taking the win but had to settle for second place for the third time during this year’s Giro d’Italia. After Saturday’s strong performance, he was second in the points classification.
“This is the closest one yet. I did everything I could today. I’m sure when I look back, I will be happy but for now, this one really really hurts”, Gee said after losing out on the victory by half a wheel length.
READ: Everything you need to know about the Grand Tours of road cycling
Athletics: Silver for De Grasse in Bermuda
Olympic champion Andre De Grasse finished second in the men’s 200m final at the USATF Bermuda Grand Prix. He crossed the finish line in a wind-aided 20.28 seconds at the World Continental Tour Gold event. He placed seventh in the 100m in a time of 10.16 seconds.
Hockey: Canada gets bounce back win against Czechia
After easing past Kazakhstan 5-1 and having a two-day break, Canada’s National Men’s Team was back on the ice at the 2023 IIHF World Championship on the weekend. Unfortunately, Canada dropped both of its matchups, putting the pressure on for their final preliminary round game on Tuesday.
On Saturday, it was a battle between Group B’s only two remaining unbeaten teams, but Switzerland came out ahead, defeating Canada 3-2. Then on the holiday Monday, Canada dropped a 3-2 shootout stunner to Norway — who entered the game with just one win in their first five games. Milan Lucic and Lawson Crouse were the goal scorers for Canada.
Tuesday saw Canada take on Czechia in a game that would decide who would finish second in the group. Tyler Myers broke a 1-1 tie with his goal four minutes into the third period, putting Canada on the path to a 3-1 victory. Next up will be a date with Finland (who finished third in Group A) in the quarterfinals on Thursday.
BMX: Molly Simpson takes silver at Pan Am Championships
BMX racer Molly Simpson continues to rack up the accomplishments in her young career. On Monday, the 20-year-old added a silver medal in the women’s elite race at the Pan American BMX Championships in Riobamba, Ecuador.
Fencing: Teenager Ruien Xiao continues to rise
Fifteen-year-old Ruien Xiao made it to the quarterfinals for a second straight tournament. She finished seventh at the FIE World Cup for epée in Fujairah, United Arab Emirates. Earlier this month, she also placed seventh at the FIE Grand Prix in Cali, Colombia. Xiao has risen to become Canada’s top-ranked competitor in women’s epée.
Eleanor Harvey is now ranked sixth in the world in women’s foil. She bumped up a spot following her 11th place finish at the FIE Grand Prix in Shanghai, China.
