THE CANADIAN PRESS/Christinne Muschi – Curling Canada/Steve Seixeiro – Costa Rican Fencing Federation/Julian Godoy
Team Canada athletes did their best this weekend! Some won medals, others secured Olympic qualification.
It's probably not the color of medal they were hoping for, but Team Gushue still won their third straight silver medal at the World Men's Curling Championships.
At just 17 years old, fencer Nicholas Zhang secured his ticket to Paris 2024 in the men's individual epee competition. On the water in Mallorca, Spain, Sarah Douglas and the team of Will Jones and Justin Barnes qualified for inclusion on Canada's Olympic sailing team for Paris 2024.
Across the border in Utica, New York, the Canadian women's ice hockey team is off to a strong start at the IIHF Women's World Championship.
Here's a recap of the weekend's top sports news:
Curling: Canada pushes Sweden to the limit in gold medal final
Dressed in red and throwing the red stones, Team Canada left it all on the ice at the 2024 World Men's Curling Championship in Schaffhausen, Switzerland. Team Gushue – consisting of captain Brad Gushue, vice-skip Mark Nichols, second EJ Harnden, lead Geoff Walker and alternate Kyle Doering – lost 6-5 to reigning Olympic champion Sweden in the gold medal final on Sunday afternoon.
Both teams kept fans on the edge of their seats, with Canada trailing in the scoring for most of the game. Trailing by two runs in the ninth inning, Gushue made a delicate attempt to score two runs and tie the game at 5-5 heading into the final inning. But that meant the hammer advantage was in the hands of Swedish captain Niklas Edin, who pulled off a difficult shot to secure his seventh gold medal at the World Championships.
READ: Team Canada wins silver medal at 2024 World Men's Curling Championships
Gushue has had to settle for silver in four of his five World Championships appearances, including the last three years in a row after winning gold on his debut in 2017 when Canada beat Sweden in the final. Eden returned the favor in the 2018 and 2022 finals and Walker accompanied Gushue in all of those world competitions.
“For the fourth time, the money is disappointing,” Gushue said. “As second in the world we should be proud of what we have achieved but it is just disappointing. »
READ: Team Canada advances to World Men's Curling Championship final
Earlier on Sunday, Italy defeated defending champions Scotland 7-6 in an extra set to secure the bronze medal. On Saturday, Canada had a good second half and defeated Bruce Mouat's Scottish team 9-4 in the semifinals. A surprising error by Scotland in the sixth allowed Canada to steal three runs and take a 6-3 lead.
Fencing: Zhang qualifies for Paris 2024
Canada's Paris 2024 fencing team includes 17-year-old Nicholas Zhang, who secured his Olympic qualification in the men's individual épée with an overtime victory in the final at the FIE's Pan American Region zonal qualifying event in San Jose, Costa Rica.
The regional qualifying tournament followed the initial allocation of Olympic quota places based on the FIE World Rankings. Through this qualification route, Canada qualified full teams of three athletes each for women's foil, men's foil and men's saber, as well as an individual place in women's saber for Pamela Brind'Amour.
This meant that Canada could only compete in the individual epee events at the regional qualifying tournament. One teenager, 16-year-old Ruien (Angel) Xiao, almost qualified for the women's épée, losing 8-7 in the final to Peru's Maria Luisa Doig Calderon.
The names of the athletes who will be part of the Canadian foil and saber teams at Paris 2024 will be announced in the coming weeks.
Sailing: Douglas, Jones and Barnes qualify for nomination for Paris 2024
Three more Canadians have secured qualifying spots for the 2024 Olympics in Paris.
Sarah Douglas (ILCA 6), together with Will Jones and Justin Barnes (49er), was the best Canadian in her boat category after the Canadian Trials at the Trofeo Princesa Sofia in Mallorca, Spain. Douglas previously qualified for the ILCA 6 quota spot for Canada at the 2023 World Sailing Championships, while Jones and Barnes qualified for the 49er quota spot at the 2023 Pan American Games in Santiago.
Douglas finished 17th in Mallorca, which, combined with her 26th place at the 2024 ILCA-6 World Championships, puts her well ahead of the Canadian rankings. In her Olympic debut at Tokyo 2020, Douglas finished sixth, the best Olympic result ever achieved by a Canadian in a women's individual sailing competition.
The race for the nomination in the 49er category was significantly closer. Jones and Barnes were the leading Canadian team at the 2024 49er World Championships, finishing 11 spots ahead of Arie Moffat and Hunter Hoy. In Mallorca, Moffat and Hoy finished better in the overall standings, but were not enough to make up the gap. Jones and Barnes combined for 74 points in both competitions, compared to 81 for Moffat and Hoy. Paris 2024 will be Jones' second appearance at the Olympics, while Barnes will compete in his first Olympic regatta.
In the 49er FX category, sisters Antonia and Georgia Lewin-LaFrance, who had already qualified for the nomination for Paris 2024, took fourth place at the Trofeo Princesa Sofia in a very difficult category.
In three boat categories in which Canada still has to achieve quota places for Olympic qualification, the athletes who will try to nab those places are now known. Luke Ruitenberg (ILCA 7), Nikola Girke (women's iQFoil) and Cyrus Lao (men's iQFoil) took first place in these disciplines at the Canadian Trials.
Hockey: Team Canada is undefeated after three games at the IIHF Women's World Championship
The team posted three straight wins to open the IIHF Women's Ice Hockey World Championship in Utica, New York.
In Thursday's opening game, Canada defeated Finland 4-1 thanks to goals from Brianne Jenner, Emma Maltais, Julia Gosling and Ella Shelton. Goalkeeper Ann-Renée Desbiens made 32 saves in the win.
On Friday, Canada played its second game against Switzerland and won 3-0. Maltais, Sarah Nurse and Sarah Fillier scored for Canada, while Marie-Philip Poulin, still in uniform after being injured in recent weeks, picked up her first point of the competition. Emerance Maschmeyer made 17 saves for the shutout.
READ: Team Canada defeats Czech Republic 5-0 at IIHF Women's Hockey World Championship
In the third round-robin game on Sunday, Canada scored five goals in a win over the Czech Republic. Kristin O'Neill scored two goals and added an assist, while Danielle Serdachny, Renata Fast and Laura Stacey each scored a goal. Sarah Nurse had two assists. Goalkeeper Desbiens made 13 saves in the Canadian cage.
Canada plays its final game of the preliminary round against the United States on Monday evening. This game will determine first place in Group A. The five teams from Group A and the top three teams from Group B will qualify for the quarterfinals, which will take place on April 11th.
Shooting: Obtaining Olympic qualification quotas for rifle shooting
Tye Ikeda took second place in the men's 3-position 50m rifle competition at the CAT view of Paris 2024. American Ivan Roe won the gold medal, but the United States had already qualified for this event, making it the only available Olympic quota spot in this continental competition. Qualification went to Canada.
Canada is now qualified for three shooting events for Paris 2024. At the Santiago 2023 Pan American Games, quota places have been secured in the women's 50m 3 position rifle event and the men's 10m air pistol event.
Track cycling: Mitchell leads Canadian medalists at Pan American Championships
Canadian cyclists had a successful weekend at the Pan American Track Cycling Championships in Los Angeles, USA.
Kelsey Mitchell won three medals: silver in the women's team sprint with Sarah Orban and Lauriane Genest, silver in the individual sprint and bronze in the keirin. She narrowly beat Genest to take the final spot on the podium in the keirin.
Canada also won silver in the men's team sprint with Tyler Rorke, Nick Wammes and James Hedgcock. There was also a bronze medal in the men's team pursuit with Chris Ernst, Cameron Fitzmaurice, Daniel Fraser-Maraun and Ethan Powell. Ernst won several medals, including gold in the omnium and silver in the individual pursuit. Fraser-Maraun won bronze in the latter event.
Ngaire Barraclough, Kiara Lylyk, Lily Plante and Anika Brants won the silver medal in the women's team pursuit. Barraclough missed the omnium podium by one place, but she and Plante won bronze at the Madison. Plante also won silver in the scratch race and bronze in the points race.
Rugby: Canadians finish sixth in Hong Kong
The Canadians finished sixth in the Hong Kong leg of the SVNS series, one of the most prestigious in the world. They are currently in fifth place in the overall standings for the season.
After the Canadians took first place in their round-robin group with three straight wins, they suffered a 26-5 defeat against New Zealand in the quarterfinals. A comeback attempt against Fiji in the game for fifth place failed and ended in a 19:15 defeat. Down 19-5 in the second half, Piper Logan and Fancy Bermudez scored tries, but it wasn't enough.
The results in Hong Kong mean that seven of the eight teams have confirmed their participation in the SVNS Series Grand Final in Madrid from May 31 to June 2. Canada, the USA, Ireland and Fiji confirm their place in Madrid, along with Australia, New Zealand and France. The last place will be decided in Singapore, while Great Britain is currently in eighth place, two points ahead of Brazil. Canadian women qualified for Paris 2024.
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