Weekend Roundup: Canadian women win Shanghai 3×3, Jensen claims two canoe sprint medals
It was another strong weekend for Canadian athletes on the international stage.
An undefeated run in Shanghai led to a FIBA 3×3 Women’s Series victory, while Team Canada opened the IIHF World Championship with wins against Sweden, Italy, and Denmark.
Elsewhere, Sarah Mitton reached the podium at the Diamond League season opener, Sophia Jensen collected two more canoe sprint World Cup medals, and Martin Sobey earned a top-10 finish on triathlon’s top international circuit.
Here’s a quick look back at what you might have missed.
Basketball: Canada wins FIBA 3×3 Women’s Series in Shanghai
Canada defeated Amsterdam 19-17 in the final of the FIBA 3×3 Women’s Series Shanghai. The third stop of the series marked the first appearance of a Canadian team this season.
The quartet, composed of Paige Crozon, Katherine Plouffe, Merissah Russell, and Tara Wallack, advanced through the tournament undefeated, thanks in part to MVP Russell, who finished first in the tournament with 33 points, seven of which were scored in the final.
The win against Amsterdam was far from a simple affair, with the team from the Netherlands getting in front quickly at the start of the game and also later on, when they led 15-11 and looked like eventual winners. This was before Canada fought back to a 17-16 lead, only to see opponent Zoë Slagter force overtime in the last seconds of the match. Russell eventually scored two free throws to give Canada their first FIBA 3×3 Women’s Series title of the season.
The next stop of the FIBA 3×3 Women’s Series will be June 12-14 in Vienna, Austria. Canada’s roster for that tournament is not yet confirmed.
Hockey: A perfect start for Team Canada at the 2026 IIHF World Championship
Canada kicked off its 2026 IIHF World Championship campaign in Fribourg, Switzerland on Friday with a thrilling 5-3 victory over Sweden. The Canadians came out strong in the opening period, surging to a quick 2-0 lead thanks to goals from John Tavares and Ryan O’Reilly. This early dominance allowed Team Canada to head into the first intermission in total control.
However, the second period featured much more back-and-forth action as the Swedes pushed back with intensity. Jacob Larsson and Lucas Raymond on a power play scored in quick succession to beat Canadian goaltender Jet Greaves and tie the game. Although Dylan Holloway briefly restored Canada’s lead, Swedish defenseman Mattias Ekholm answered back just few seconds later, sending both teams into the locker room deadlocked at 3-3.
Canada ultimately sealed the win in the third period when Connor Brown netted the game-winner, before Dylan Cozens iced the game with a breakaway goal to bring the final score to 5-3. Jet Greaves put on a solid performance in the net, turning away 25 shots to secure his first career victory with Team Canada.
The story was different in Canada’s second game of the tournament, where Misha Donskov’s men dominated their Italian opponents, earning a 6-0 shutout win. Captain Macklin Celebrini was the star of the show, scoring two goals and an assist, while Cam Talbot had a relatively quiet day in front of the net, needing to make only 19 saves to preserve his shutout.
Facing Denmark on Monday, there were no goals scored through the first two periods of play. But just 28 seconds into the third, Sidney Crosby and Celebrini assisted on a goal by Porter Martone to put Canada ahead. It was the first of four assists for Crosby in the period as Canada scored five goals to take the 5-1 victory.
The Canadians now have a couple days off before taking on Norway on Thursday.
Athletics: Mitton takes bronze in Diamond League season opener
Canadian shot put star Sarah Mitton finished third at the season-opening Diamond League meeting in Shanghai on Saturday. No one in the field had thrown beyond 20 metres before the fifth round. The competition then came alive with a series of big marks. Two-time world indoor champion Mitton threw a season best 20.42m for her longest distance of the day.
”Today’s result exceeded my expectations,” said Mitton, the lone Canadian competing in Shanghai. “I think the tough flights and long trips were worthy. My performance was quite solid today. This is just the second meeting of this season.”
Jessica Schilder of the Netherlands launched a Diamond League record-breaking throw of 21.09m to get the win, while reigning world indoor champion Chase Jackson of the United States reached 20.46m. All three surpassed 20 metres again in the final round, but the positions remained unchanged.
Canoe/Kayak Sprint: Two medal weekend for Sophia Jensen
Four Canadian boats raced in A finals at the second stop of the ICF Canoe Sprint World Cup in Brandenburg, Germany.
For the second week in a row, Sophia Jensen reached the podium in the women’s C-1 500m, adding a bronze to the silver she captured in Szeged, Hungary. She finished 1.34 seconds behind the winner, Hungary’s Agnes Anna Kiss. China’s Mengya Sun claimed the silver.
The next day, she paddled to the silver medal in the women’s C-1 200m, the solo women’s canoe event that is part of the Olympic program. Jensen finished 0.75 back of the winner, Ukraine’s Liudmyla Luzan, and a quarter of a second ahead of Cuba’s Yarisleidis Cirilo Duboys who completed the podium in third place.
In the women’s C-2 500m, another Olympic program event, Katie Vincent and Zoe Wojtyk finished just off the podium in fourth place after a fiercely contested race. They had finished fifth last week in Szeged.
Michelle Russell battled through a tough field in the women’s K-1 500m, ultimately earning a place in the A final and finishing 9th.
Sailing: Lewin-LaFrance sisters just miss world championship podium
Georgia and Antonia Lewin-LaFrance finished fourth at the 2026 49erFX World Championships in Quiberon, France, rebounding after a tough start to the regatta.
The sisters were in 20th place after the two-day Preliminary Series, but that was enough to qualify them for the Gold Fleet. During the two-day Elimination Series, they moved up the ranks to 14th and then ninth place, which qualified them for the Final Series featuring only the top 10 boats.
On Sunday, they finished second and third in the two races to climb five spots in the standings. They tied in points with the bronze medallists from Poland, but the Polish team took the last spot on the podium by virtue of their higher placement in the final race of the competition.
“We had a really consistent day,” said Antonia and Georgia Lewin-LaFrance, who were the bronze medallists at the 2025 World Championships. “We just felt pretty confident and happy with the way we sailed today. It was really nice to finish on a high and wrap up the regatta in fourth place overall.
“What made the difference this week was having confidence from the get-go. That was definitely lacking a little bit on our boat in the beginning. And as the week went on, we just became more and more confident with our process, with our starts. And it means that we ended on a really high note, which is really great.”
Triathlon: Sobey delivers top-10 finish at WTCS
Martin Sobey finished seventh at the World Triathlon Championship Series (WTCS) in Yokohama, Japan on Saturday. It’s his first time placing inside the top 10 on the top international triathlon circuit. It comes on the heels of a bronze medal he helped Canada win in the mixed relay at the World Triathlon Cup in Chengdu one week earlier.
The race was the second of nine stops for the 2026 WTCS season. Fellow Canadian Charles Paquet finished third at the opener in Samarkand, Uzbekistan on April 25.
Racing the Olympic-distance course—a 1.5km swim, 40km bike, and 10km run—Sobey crossed the line in 1:40:31, finishing 1 minute and 43 seconds behind winner Matt Hauser of Australia.
The next stop of the WTCS takes place May 30 in Alghero, Italy where Paquet and Tyler Mislawchuk are on the start list for Canada in the men’s event. Desirae Ridenour is entered in the women’s race.
