Chung Sung-Jun/ISU, FIBA, Leah Hennel/COC
It’s a busy weekend for Team Canada athletes and fans!
The World Aquatics Championships continue in Doha, Qatar, with qualification for Paris 2024 on the line for some Canadian athletes and teams. Paris is also a priority for Canada’s women’s basketball team as they fight for their Olympic berth at the Olympic qualifying tournament in Sopron, Hungary.
Team Canada’s short track speed skaters will return for the penultimate ISU World Cup of the season in Dresden, Germany. Meanwhile, many athletes will be in action on local snow as the cross-country skiing, aerials and snowboarding World Cups take place in Canada this weekend.
Here’s what you don’t want to miss:
Water sports: diving, swimming, artistic swimming, water polo
The World Aquatics Championships continue in Doha, Qatar. Pool swimming events begin this weekend, while diving and artistic swimming conclude and the water polo competition continues.
Diving: Nathan Zsombor-Murray and Rylan Wiens will be back in action on Friday for the men’s 10m platform preliminaries after qualifying for Paris 2024 in the men’s synchronized 10m on Thursday. The semi-final and final of the individual 10m event will take place on Saturday. Wiens can qualify a second Olympic berth for Canada on the 10m platform after Zsombor-Murray earned one at last year’s world championships.
Swimming: The swimming events begin on Sunday and many Canadians are heading to the pool. For the women, Ella Jansen will compete in the 400m freestyle and Katerine Savard in the 100m butterfly, while Ashley McMillan and Sydney Pickrem will compete in the 200m individual medley.
On the men’s side, Lorne Wigginton will represent Canada in the 400m freestyle, James Dergousoff will compete in the 100m breaststroke and Finlay Knox will compete in the 50m butterfly.
Team Canada will also field men’s and women’s 4x100m freestyle relay teams on Sunday.
READ: Keep Swimming: Three Team Canada Swimmers on Their Veteran Approach to Sport and Life
Artistic swimming: On Friday, Canada will compete in the team freestyle, the last of three exercises that will determine whether it qualifies for Paris 2024. Canada finished fourth in the acrobatic routine and sixth in the technical routine. The top five teams not yet qualified will earn their Olympic berth.
READ: Breathe and have fun: Canadian artistic swimmers ahead of the World Aquatics Championships
Water polo: Team Canada’s women’s water polo team will face New Zealand on Saturday. Canada finished second in Group D and advanced to the round of 16. The World Aquatics Championships are the last chance for the Canadian team to qualify for Paris 2024. There are two Olympic spots available.
READ: Canadian women’s water polo team prepares for final chance at Olympic qualification at World Aquatics Championships
Basketball
Canada’s women’s basketball team is ready to fight for their ticket to Paris 2024 as they compete in an Olympic qualifying tournament in Sopron, Hungary. This tournament is one of four which will take place from February 8 to 11. Sixteen teams will compete in the four tournaments, including Team USA and Team France already qualified, leaving 10 Olympic spots up for grabs.
Canada opened the tournament Thursday with a 67-55 victory over host Hungary. Ranked fifth in the world, Canada will play No. 4 Spain on Friday, followed by No. 9 Japan on Sunday. Three of these teams will earn a place in the Olympic Games.
READ: Women’s basketball team’s goals: Olympic qualification and leaving the game better than they found it
Short track speed skating
The ISU Short Track World Cup resumes this weekend after a slight break since the last event in mid-December. The fifth of six stops on the circuit this season will take place in Dresden, Germany, where 12 Canadian athletes will be in action.
As the final stage of the World Cup looms on the horizon, some Team Canada athletes are at the heart of the battle for the Crystal Globes. In the general men’s rankings, Steven Dubois currently occupies first place, just two points ahead of his South Korean rival Ji Won Park. William Dandjinou, who won his first individual World Cup medal in Montreal at the start of the season, occupies third place in the overall World Cup standings, a fine illustration of the 22-year-old skater’s development over the past few years. month.
In the general classification of the different events, Jordan Pierre-Gilles is first in the 500m thanks to his three gold medals this season. Dubois is second in the 1000m while Dandjinou is second in the 1500m. In the men’s 5000m relay, the Canadians are currently in second place. This weekend, the men’s team will be completed by Pascal Dion, Félix Roussel and Philippe Daudelin.
Among the women, Kim Boutin makes her return to the circuit. She missed the international competitions this fall, after taking a break to focus on her studies in special education. In Dresden, she will join her teammates Danaé Blais, Courtney Sarault, Claudia Gagnon, Florence Brunelle and Renee Steenge. The women’s 3000m relay team is third in the overall World Cup standings.
Qualifying rounds for all events will take place on Friday. On Saturday, the women’s and men’s 1500m and 1000m finals as well as the mixed relay are on the program. Sunday will feature the 500m finals, the second in the 1000m as well as the women’s and men’s relays.
On the snow at home
Cross-country skiing: Canmore, Alberta, will host a stop at the FIS Cross-Country Ski World Cup until Tuesday.
Among the Canadians who will be in action, we find Antoine Cyr, who impressed at the beginning of January by finishing 12th in the general classification of the prestigious Tour de Ski. Beijing 2022 Olympians Olivier Léveillé, Olivia Bouffard-Nesbitt and Katherine Stewart-Jones, as well as promising international talents Xavier McKeever, Julien Locke and Katie Weaver will also take on the world’s best on Canadian snow.
The mass start events for the women’s and men’s 15 km freestyle will take place on Friday. The free sprint events are scheduled for Saturday. Sunday will see the 20km mass start in classical technique, while the competition will end on Tuesday with the sprint events in classical technique.
Antennas: Lac Beauport, Quebec, will host the final aerials leg of the FIS Freestyle World Cup, with men’s and women’s events Saturday and Sunday.
Alexandre Duchaine, who won gold last weekend at Deer Valley, will look to continue his momentum. Marion Thénault, who had to miss a World Cup in December because she was recovering from a nasty fall in training, will try to get back on track after finishing 12th on her return to the circuit this weekend. last last.
Several other Canadian athletes hope to make their mark at this World Cup home game, including Émile Nadeau, Lewis Irving, Victor Primeau and Miha Fontaine on the men’s side and Flavie Aumond and Charlie Fontaine on the women’s side.
Snowboard: Team Canada is ready to put on a show for the home crowd this weekend as the FIS Halfpipe Snow Rodeo World Cup takes place at Canada Olympic Park in Calgary. Liam Gill, Ryan Vo, Lucas Briggs, Elizabeth Hosking, Brooke D’Hondt, Felicity Geremia, Jenna Walker and Lily-Ann Ulmer will compete; Aside from Hosking, all of these athletes live in Calgary.
Qualifications will take place on Friday, followed by the finals on Saturday.
“Web specialist. Social media ninja. Amateur food aficionado. Alcohol advocate. General creator. Beer guru.”
