Gymnastics Canada – EDMONTON, AB (May 21, 2017) – Carmen Whelan of Aurora, ON captured her first ever Canadian Championship title after sweeping all four apparatus finals on Sunday at the 2017 Canadian Championships in Rhythmic Gymnastics while Michel Vivier of Toronto was named the junior all-around champion.

Whelan dominated the competition throughout the entire championship, putting herself in the lead from the beginning and never looking back. Whelan scored a total 125.600 points combined from competition A and B to capture the gold medal. In rhythmic gymnastics, athletes perform the four apparatus over the first two days (competition A) to determine the top-15 athletes that advance to competition B on the final day. On the final day, they perform all four apparatus and their final all-around score is a combination of both competitions.

“I’m feeling really ecstatic! It’s still surreal to me to be named Canadian champion especially after years of being in second place and being so close,” said Whelan following competition. “It’s a huge accomplishment and I’ve been working so hard for this moment. This sport is my life and I wouldn’t choose to do anything else.”

Katherine Uchida (Toronto) finished in second place overall with 118.150 points and Athena Tsaltas (Toronto) rounded out the podium in third place scoring 109.850 points.

Vivier captured the junior Canadian championship title while in her first season as a junior with a final score of 115.100 points. As the youngest junior competitor, it meant a lot for Vivier to come out on top: “I’m feeling amazing, I’m really proud of myself,” said Vivier shortly after the award ceremony. “I’m thankful for my coach, who is my mom, it means everything to me to be named Canadian champion. I had a small injury following Saturday’s competition so turns were a little tough, but I did my best and my hard work paid off.”

Sophie Crane (Toronto) finished less than four points back of Vivier with 111.950 to secure the silver medal in addition to her gold medal in hoop, ball and clubs, while Natalie Garcia (Mississauga, ON) took home the bronze with a final score of 108.900 as well as adding a gold medal in ribbon.

“I’m very proud of our athletes this weekend and all the performances they had,” said Teresa Orr, National Team Director for Rhythmic Gymnastics at Gymnastics Canada. “There have been significant improvements since the Elite Canada competition including the level of difficulty, their confidence and overall routine execution.”

Also winning a title today were the junior FIG group from Adagio Gymnastics Club in British Columbia who won the junior all-around title.

Gymnastics Canada is also pleased to announce the following rhythmic gymnastics awards: Carmen Whelan – Senior Canadian athlete of the year, Natalie Garcia – Junior Canadian athlete of the year, Jaedyn Andreotti – Miss Elegance and Svetlana Joukova – Canadian coach of the year.

For full results, please visit: www.score2u.com

ABOUT GYMNASTICS CANADA

First established in 1969, Gymnastics Canada is the national governing body for the sport of gymnastics in Canada. Gymnastics Canada works closely with the twelve Provincial Federations and the 700 local clubs to provide a broad range of programs and services to meet the needs of all participants. From athlete development, to coaching and judging education, Gymnastics Canada sets the operating standards and practices for the sport in Canada. Our mandate is to promote and provide positive and diverse gymnastics experience through the delivery of quality and safe gymnastics programming. Visit www.gymcan.org for more information, or follow us @CDNgymnastics.

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For more information, contact: 

Julie Forget
Director, Communications and Marketing
Gymnastics Canada
Cell: 819.210.2064
Email: jforget@gymcan.org