Weekend Roundup: Katzberg keeps hammering records, McKay & Miller strike World Cup silver
It was a weekend for the Team Canada record books in athletics. Ethan Katzberg posted the longest hammer throw the world has seen in 16 years while Audrey Leduc broke a national record that has stood for almost 37 years. Plus, Olympic qualification was secured in the new marathon mixed race walking relay.
Elsewhere, Caeli McKay and Kate Miller dove to a World Cup podium in China while Ellie Black was a top performer at an artistic gymnastics meet in Italy.
And that is certainly not all! Keep reading to catch up on what you might have missed.
Athletics: Katzberg shatters record, Diamond League gold for Arop
Ethan Katzberg keeps re-writing the Canadian record in the men’s hammer throw. In his first competition of 2024, the reigning world champion threw 84.38m at the Kip Keino Classic, a World Athletics Continental Tour event in Nairobi, Kenya. Not only did it erase his previous national record of 81.25m he threw to win the world title last summer, it was the longest hammer throw by anyone since 2008. The 22-year-old is now ninth on the all-time list.
At the first Diamond League meet of the year in Xiamen, China, another reigning world champion also started his season with a gold medal. Marco Arop won the men’s 800m in 1:43.61, holding off a late push from Kenya’s Wyclife Kinyamal, who crossed the line just 0.05 behind. Botswana’s Tshepiso Masalela finished third.
Two other Canadians were competing in Xiamen. Sarah Mitton just missed the podium in women’s shot put, placing fourth with a best effort of 19.35m. It was her first event since winning gold at the World Athletics Indoor Championships in early March. Regan Yee finished eighth in the women’s 3000m steeplechase in a time of 9:31.47.
On Sunday, Evan Dunfee and Olivia Lundman squeezed into an Olympic qualifying spot for Paris 2024 in the marathon race walk mixed relay. They secured the 21st of 22 spots available in what will be the event’s Olympic debut this summer at the World Athletics Race Walking Team Championships in Antalya, Turkey on Sunday. They finished the 42.195km event in 3:07:10 to set the Canadian record. Dunfee had already achieved the Olympic entry standard for the men’s 20km race walk and is now set to be accompanied by an athlete he coaches.
Meanwhile, at the LSU Alumni Gold meet in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Audrey Leduc ran the women’s 100m in 10.96 seconds, breaking the national record of 10.98 that had been held by the late Angela Bailey since July 1987. That time puts Leduc under the Olympic entry standard of 11.07 seconds for the women’s 100m after she had missed it by 0.01 on March 30.
Diving: McKay and Miller take World Cup silver
Caeli McKay and Kate Miller won silver in the women’s 10m synchro event at the World Aquatics Diving World Cup Super Final in Xi’an, China. They were in fourth place heading into their fifth and final dive, but a score of 70.08 gave them a total of 296.10 to bump them onto the second step of the podium ahead of Ukrainians Kseniia Bailo and Sofiia Lyskun, who took the bronze with 294.42. Chen Yuxi and Quan Hongchan of China won gold with 364.86 points.
McKay was back in action on Sunday in the women’s 10m platform final where she finished fifth with a score of 318.05 points. Her fourth dive of the event earned a score of 74.25, her best of the competition. Elaena Dick cracked the top-10 with 283.25 points.
Rylan Wiens also competed on Sunday, finishing seventh in the men’s 10m final with a total score of 442.55 points.
Artistic Gymnastics: Black ties for top all-around at City of Jesolo Trophy
Ellie Black tied for the top score in the individual all-around at the City of Jesolo Trophy in Italy on Saturday. The 28-year-old Canadian scored 55.733, matching that of Italy’s Alice D’Amato. Black also competed in three of the four apparatus finals on Sunday.
In Sunday’s apparatus finals, two-time Olympian Shallon Olsen finished third on vault, her specialty event. The two gymnasts also helped Canada to a fourth-place finish in the team event, posting a score of 163.934 to finish behind the host Italians (166.800), Brazil (164.465), and the United States (163.934). The Canadian team also included Cassie Lee, Audrey Rousseau, Ava Stewart, and Aurélie Tran. This competition was a key tune-up for the Canadians as they prepare for the national championships and Olympic team selection.
Golf: Henderson third at first LPGA major of 2024
Brooke Henderson finished tied for third at The Chevron Championship, the first of five major tournaments in women’s golf this year.
Henderson’s final score of 10-under par left her three strokes back of the winner, American Nelly Korda, who won her fifth straight event. The 26-year-old Canadian had moved into title contention when she shot a 64 in the third round, a record low for the tournament since its move to its current course at The Woodlands, Texas last year.
Beach Volleyball: Melissa & Brandie reach Elite 16 quarterfinals
Melissa Humana-Paredes and Brandie Wilkerson again advanced to the quarterfinals of a Beach Pro Tour Elite 16 event, this time in Tepic, Mexico. They have never finished lower than fifth in any tournament since teaming up ahead of last season. They defeated fellow Canadians Sarah Pavan and Molly McBain 21-15, 21-13 in the Round of 12 before falling to Swiss duo Tanja Hüberli and Nina Brunner 15-21, 19-21 in the quarters.
Humana-Paredes and Wilkerson have now played the requisite 12 tournaments together for their world ranking to count towards Olympic qualification. The FIVB Olympic Ranking List won’t officially close until June 10, but the Canadian duo is provisionally positioned to take one of the 17 women’s beach volleyball tickets to Paris 2024.
Curling: Canada 4-0 to start mixed doubles worlds
The Canadian husband-wife duo of Kadriana Lott and Colton Lott stayed undefeated through their first four games at the World Mixed Doubles Curling Championship in Oestersund, Sweden.
In their lone game on Monday, they defeated South Korea’s Jiyoon Kim and Byeongjin Jeong 6-4 in seven ends. They opened the tournament on Saturday with a 7-2 win in six ends over New Zealand duo Courtney Smith and Anton Hood, which was followed by a pair of victories on Sunday. They took down Czechia’s Zuzana Paulova and Tomas Paul 8-3 in six ends before an 11-0 shut out of the Netherlands’ Vanessa Tonoli and Wouter Goesgens.
The round robin continues through Thursday. At 4-0, Lott and Lott — who are making their world championship debuts — are tied atop Group B with Sweden.
