Canada ignites Pepes

Following the same routine as at the Tokyo Olympics, the Canadian team finished fifth in the Technical Team Competition of the World Junior Artistic Swimming Championships, which was held on Tuesday evening at PEPS at Université Laval.

• Read also: Artistic swimming: a page of history will be written at the Junior World Championships in Quebec

Canada scored 83.5095 points compared to gold medalist Japan, who scored 88.3786 points.

Spain and Italy won silver and bronze, respectively.

“The girls put in their best performance,” Doré said. I’m really happy. It was all there. They have performed a challenging routine, and their performance will give them confidence. »

The Canadian performance is commendable as the swimmers only had seven weeks to improve their preparation. “Despite this short delay, I am not surprised by their performance because the dynamic within the team is incredible,” Doré said. It’s one of the good teams I’ve managed in 30 years. Soon the girls became a team. We count on an exceptional group that progresses every day. »

“They get a good grade, but the girls will improve their grades in the free routine,” Dore adds confidently. After two years of inactivity, we didn’t know what to expect in terms of scoring, which is why we aimed to perform. »

Fifth place for Lamothe

Canadian top prospect Audrey Lammoth finished her tech routine in fifth.

The caliber was raised in the presence of three swimmers who participated in the first world championships in Budapest in June. In addition to Lamott, Japan’s Mo Higa won the gold with 88.4438 points, and France’s Aurian Gilardon, who took bronze with 84.3904 points.

“I’m happy with my performance,” said Lamotte, who made her senior national team debut last winter at the World Championships in Europe. I knew the caliber would go up in the presence of some great athletes. »

incentives

For her routine, the 17-year-old swimmer scored 83.5463 points. And Italian Susanna Pedotti got silver with 85.2942 points.

“I was trying not to think too much about my chances of getting a medal and I wanted to give my best performance,” Lamott said. I was feverish, and it was an honor to swim home. I’m glad I competed in front of my friends and family. Even though I was focusing on the music and my performance, I could hear encouragement from my distant loved ones. »

What did Lamott lose to get to the podium? “Audrey was more tense than usual and lacked some stability,” the Canadian team’s head coach explained. Audrey strives for perfection and thinks a lot, which makes her even more fragile. She swam well and I’m proud of her. »

Historic gold medal

Spain’s Denis Gonzalez Bono is the first ever individual gold medalist in the world’s technical swimming championships.

While men made their international debut in mixed events in 2015, this year’s edition of the World Junior Championships features the singles event for the first time. This historic victory had a very special flavor for Gonzalez Bono.

“It’s a special moment and I’m very emotional,” said the gold medalist with 82.6639 points in the mixed zone. Our sport is developing and developing and winning is becoming more and more. However, this is only the beginning and our sport will go much further. »

Surprise

Gonzalez Ponio did not expect to rise to the top of the podium. “I am surprised by my gold medal,” he admitted. Japanese [Yotaro Sato] Very talented and I knew it was going to be tough to win. I did a good job on my art items. My attitude and the way I swim made the difference. It’s the best routine of my career and I’m chasing another gold medal in mixed. We had a great event. »

Sato ranked second with a total of 80.9088 points. “It’s really cool to win a medal,” he said through his coach. I am amazed with my medal. »

Her coach was not surprised by the second place he was protecting. “He’s humble when he talks about the surprise, but we knew he had a chance to win a medal,” she said. Together with his sister, he won the mixed event at the World Championships in Budapest. His sister is not here because he is no longer young. »

Interesting pool

Powers on the international women’s stage, Spain and Japan have an interesting group of boys. “We have 20 boys training in technical swimming, ten of them are in the national program,” said the Japanese coach. »

On the Spanish side, they are betting on 15 swimmers of all ages. “They can achieve all the goals they want,” said coach Gonzalez Bono.

Kazakh Edward Kim completed the podium in a field of seven swimmers, none of whom were Canadians. In good shape before he completely missed his last technical element, Italian Filippo Bellati, who told us about his career on Monday, was unbearable. He got relief from Canadian coach Karen Doré, especially from his teammate, Susanna Pedotti.