Congratulations to Team Canada on the outstanding performances in Rome!
Ontario athletes competing in Rome:
FEMALE MALE
Zsofi Balazs (TSC) Joe Bartoch (LAC)
Bridget Coley (HAC) Colin Russell (DS)
Heather MacLean (ESWIM)
Amanda Reason (ESWIM)
Sinead Russell (DS)
Julia Wilkinson (NYAC)
Congratulations to Julia Wilkinson (NYAC) who broke a Canadian record in the lead off 100 back of the 4x100 Medley Relay (1:00.37). The Canadian team of Wilkinson, Annamay Pierse, Audrey Lacroix and Genevieve Samur came 6th and broke the Canadian record in 3:57.31.
Two other Canadian women's relay teams broke Canadian records:
The 4x100 freestyle relay team of Victoria Poon, Erica Morningstar, Samur and Heather MacLean (ESWIM) swam a Canadian record time of 3:38.33
The 4x200 freestyle relay team of Samur, Wilkinson, Alexandra Gabor and MacLean placed 8th in a Canadian record time of 7:49.14.
On the men's relay side, the Canadian team of Pascal Wollach, Matthew Bois, Joe Bartoch (LAC) and Brent Hayden broke the Canadian record in the 4 x 100 Medley relay in 3:31.02.
Amanda Reason (ESWIM) also competed in the final 50 breast placing 7th in 30.67.
World record for Canada’s Annamay Pierse; Hayden misses medal by 0.02 seconds, five Canadian records for the day
ROME- (July 30, 2009) Annamay Pierse of Vancouver broke the world record in the women’s 200-metre breaststroke on Thursday in the semifinals at the world aquatic championships and will now go for gold in Friday evening’s final.
Pierse won her semifinal heat in two minutes and 20.12 seconds to eclipse the previous world mark of 2:20.22 set by Rebecca Soni of the U.S., at the 2008 Olympics. She also beat her Canadian record of 2:20.77 set at the world championship trials two weeks ago.
“I knew I had it in me,” said Pierse, immediately after the race. “I knew I had to have a great swim.”
Soni was second in Thursday’s semi in 2:20.93 and Mima Jukic of Austria third in 2:22.13. Martha McCabe of Vancouver also advanced to the final clocking the sixth fastest time in 2:22.75.
It is the second world mark for Pierse this year. This past spring she lowered the international standard in the short course 200 breaststroke.
“She was very poised in her race” said Pierre Lafontaine, Swimming Canada’s national coach and CEO. “She wasn’t overdoing anything and kept her technique. Now she is going to turn her focus to trying to win gold.”
Four more Canadian records
In the men’s 100 freestyle final, Cesar Cielo Filho of Brazil broke the world record clocking 46.91 seconds for the gold. Alain Bernard of France was second in 47.12 and his compatriot Frederick Bousquet third in 47.25.
Brent Hayden of Vancouver made a big surge at the finish and took fourth spot in 47.27 to beat his Canadian record of 47.56 set at last year’s Olympics.
“I went faster than in Beijing and today’s time would have been worth a silver there,” said Hayden. “I was kind of wishing I was going to get something hung around my neck but it’s a fast world. I put in the effort and that’s all I can ask from myself. I did an amazing time but unfortunately there were three swimmers faster than me.”
In the women’s 200 butterfly final, Audrey Lacroix of Montreal lowered her Canadian record for the second time in two days finishing seventh in 2:05.95. She swam 2:06.67 in Wednesday’s preliminaries.
“I’m really happy,” said Lacroix. “I reached my goal by making the final and I just wanted to have a good swim and hopefully get a best time and that’s what I did.”
Jessicah Schipper of Australia lowered the world record finishing in 2:03.41 for the gold. Zige Liu of China was second in 2:03.90 and Katinka Hosszu of Hungary was third in 2:04.28.
In the women’s 4X200 freestyle relay, China broke the world record clocking 7:42.08 for the gold. The U.S., took the silver at 7:42.56 and Britain third in 7:45.51.
Canada with Geneviève Saumur of Montreal, Julia Wilkinson of North York, Ont., Alexandra Gabor of Whitehorse and Heather MacLean of Etobicoke was eighth in a Canadian record 7:49.14 bettering the 7:50.29 from the morning prelims. Saumur also broke the 200 freestyle record with her opening leg clocking 1:56.97.
“This is an absolutely amazing team and I’m pumped for the next four years,” said Wilkinson. “We have a very young team and we’ve got so much more coming.”
“This is an amazing relay and we put our hearts into that swim,” added MacLean. “We stepped it up again tonight and I’m really excited about being part of this team.”
In the women’s 100 freestyle semis, Victoria Poon of Montreal was 15th and did not advance.
Canadians in Friday’s preliminaries: Hayden and Joel Greenshields of Airdrie, Alta., in the 50 freestyle; Lacroix and Poon in the 50 butterfly; Joe Bartoch of London, Ont., and Stefan Hirniak of Victoria in the 100 butterfly; Barbara Jardin of Montreal and Lauren Lavigna of Vancouver in the 200 backstroke; the men’s 4X200 freestyle relay; Savannah King of Vancouver in the 800 freestyle.
Annamay Pierse qualifies fifth for 100 breaststroke semifinal at World Aquatic Championships
ROME– Annamay Pierse of Vancouver posted the fifth fastest time in the women’s 100 breaststroke preliminaries on Monday to advance to tonight’s semfinals in swimming action at the world aquatic championships.
Pierse clocked the fastest 50-metre split of the day at 30.98 seconds and finished in 1:06.68. Rebecca Soni of the U.S., was the fastest qualifier with a meet record 1:05.66 followed by Yuliya Efimova of Russia at 1:06.42 and Mirna Jukic of Austria at 1:06.58.
Amanda Reason of Windsor, Ont., placed 22nd overall and did not advance. The top-16 moved on to the semis.
Canada’s other entries were eliminated. In the men’s 100 backstroke, Pascal Wollach of Calgary missed a berth in the semifinal by 0.04 seconds clcking 54.08 for 17th overall. Jake Tapp of Langley, B.C., was 31st.
“It’s a little disappointing not to advance,’’ said Wollach, who broke Mark Tewksbury’s 17-year-old national record in the event earlier this month at the world championship trials. ‘’I think I took it out a little too easy.’’
In the men’s 200 freestyle Blake Worsley of Victoria was 23rd and Colin Russell of Oakville, Ont., 26th.
‘’I’m very happy to come in here and put up a best time by a half second,’’ said Worsley. ‘’It was a good 200 freestyle for me.’’
Russell, however, wanted a berth in the semis.
‘’I’m not too happy with that,’’ said Russell. ‘’It was a steady race for me but there was no pick up and my time reflects that.’’
In the women’s 100 backstroke, Sinead Russell of Oakville was 24th and Gabrielle Soucisse of Montreal 30th.
Savannah King of Vancouver was 26th in the women’s 1,500 freestyle.
Simon Tobin and Zsofia Balazs top Canadians in open water race at world aquatic championships
Thomas Lurz of Germany won the men’s 10-kilometer open water race on Wednesday at the world aquatic championships.
Lurz, who also won the 5K race Tuesday, covered the sea course off Rome’s ancient port of Ostia in 1 hour, 52 minutes, 6.9 seconds.
Andrew Gemmell of the United States finished second, but there was a dispute over the bronze medal between Francis Crippen of the U.S., who actually touched third and Italian Valerio Cleri who was fourth.
The Italian officials claim Crippen swam off course. The FINA jury of appeal announced it will render a decision for the bronze on Thursday. Therefore official results were not posted.
Simon Tobin of Ste-Foy, Que., the top Canadian, and Philippe Dubreuil of Sherbrooke, Que., finished well back.
“I thought it went well,” said Tobin, 24. “I kept my position in the pack but I had trouble on the turns. That’s when the race got rough. I jammed my arm on the first turn and the pain bothered me the rest of the race. I did everything I could and I’m satisfied with my performance.”
Dubreuil won the 10 kilometre race at the U.S., Open last month which served as the Canadian world team trials for the event.
“Unfortunately this wasn't the race I was looking for,” said Dubreuil, 27, fifth at the Pan Am Games in 2007. “I started feeling tired at the four kilometre mark, and I'm not sure why. The wind picked up at the end, but I’m used to these types of conditions. I'm going to take some time to review the race with my coach and see what happened."
In the women’s 10 kilometre race, Keri-Anne Payne of Britain won the gold medal while Olympic champion Larisa Ilchenko of Russia withdrew at the halfway mark with an injury.
Payne, the Olympic silver medalist, clocked 2 hours, 1 minute, 37.1 seconds. Ekaterina Seliverstova of Russia edged Martina Grimaldi of Italy in a sprint finish for the silver medal.
Ilchenko, who was the defending world champion in 10K, was brought ashore on a jet ski shortly after the 1-hour mark due to a leg injury.
Canada fielded two of the youngest entries. Zsofia Balazs, 19, of Toronto was 33rd and Nadine Williams, 16, of Sherwood Park, Alta., was 42nd.
“I really liked how I finished my race, this is a real confidence boost,” said Balazs. “For me it was very important to stick with the pack. The key point for me was when the wind picked up and made the water a bit choppy, I adjusted my stroke to ensure that it stayed well balanced.”
Williams will also build on the experience.
“The beginning of the race was a bit rough,” she said. “We saw a few elbows flying left and right, but I managed to stay in there and fight my way through. This is a great experience for me. I’m motivated to improve.”
The open water competition ends Saturday with the gruelling 25 kilometre race. Tobin is scheduled as Canada’s sole entry.
Bridget Coley, HAC, places 32nd in Open Water 5km
Thomas Lurz of Germany won his third consecutive five kilometre title in open water swimming Tuesday at the world aquatic championships, and Melissa Gorman of Australia edged Olympic champion Larisa Ilchenko of Russia for gold in the women’s race.
Lurz beat Spyridon Gianniotis of Greece by about a body length in the open sea course off Rome’s ancient port of Ostia. He also won the event at the 2005 worlds in Montreal and the 2007 edition in Melbourne, Australia.
On Tuesday, Lurz clocked 56 minutes, 27.2 seconds. Gianniotis was 0.3 seconds behind, and Chad Ho of South Africa took third, 15 seconds back.
David Creel of Victoria was the sole Canadian entry and placed 22nd in 57:37.1. Creel battled back from an elbow injury to qualify for the team in both the five and 10 kilometre events. Before this season, he hadn’t raced in open water since October 2007.
"This was my first big international race since the last worlds in 2007 so I was a bit nervous,” said Creel, 28, who made his world championship open water debut in 2002. “I used my experience to calm myself down. It was a strong field with lots of 1,500 metre freestyle swimmers. The race was pretty fast and the turns pretty tight. My strategy was to accelerate in the turns and gain the best position possible.”
Overall Creel was pleased with his performance.
“I find that slightly being outside the pact is easier, you don't get beaten up as much as if you were in the middle,” he said. “The best part of my race was the first 3,500 metres. I kind of loss the lead pact at the end, I just didn't have enough to catch up." The races were originally scheduled for Sunday but were postponed by two days after rough seas destroyed the starting dock and timing equipment. Consequently, swimmers began the race already in the water and an old fashioned banner replaced computerized touch pads at the finish line.
In the women’s race, Gorman finished in 56:55.8. Ilchenko took the silver medal, 0.5 seconds behind, and Poliana Okimoto of Brazil was third, 3.5 seconds back.
Bridget Coley of Hamilton placed 32nd in 59:44.5 and Nadine Williams of Sherwood Park, Alta., was 38th in 1:02:22.8. The two 16-year-olds were making the worlds debut and were among the youngest racers in the field.
"The swim felt ready good,” said Coley, who’ll race for Ontario at the Canada Games next month. “I've learned a lot from this race. There's so many great competitors and my goal was to stay in pact and fight my way through. I didn't know what to expect. We had a great preparation and I think that really helped."
The men’s and women’s 10 kilometre races are on Wednesday.
