Gymnastics Canada – EDMONTON, AB (May 19, 2017) – Carmen Whelan of Aurora, ON finished strong on day one of competition at the 2017 Canadian Championships in Rhythmic Gymnastics in Edmonton, Alberta today and sits in first place in the senior high performance category heading into the second day of competition.

This is only Whelan’s second competition of the year after suffering an injury in early April. She has been working hard to overcome her injury and that commitment has been evident thus far as she currently has 33.100 points and sits more than two points ahead of Katherine Uchida (Toronto) in second place. Whelan scored 15.850 points in her hoop routine before dominating the competition with her ball routine to score 17.250 points to take the lead.

“I was pretty happy with my performance today,” said Whelan. “I wasn’t going out to try and be the best but to compete against myself and do what’s best for me in my recovery right now. I don’t want to push myself further than I can right now but it felt good to be back into my rhythm.”

Whelan finished in second place in 2016 behind four-time Canadian champion Patricia Bezzoubenko, who isn’t competing this year due to injury. When asked what it felt like to lead the competition heading into day two, Whelan was optimistic; “it would be amazing for me to win after all these years of sitting in second and hopefully this year I can do it.”

In junior high performance competition, first year junior and the youngest competitor in the category, Michel Vivier of Toronto, ON currently leads the competition with 30.850 points following her hoop and ball routines. Vivier scored an impressive 15.250 on hoop before delivering an even more flawless ball performance and scoring 15.600 points.

“I wasn’t really nervous coming into the competition, so that helped me a lot,” said Vivier following competition. “I feel good about day two because clubs and ribbons are my easiest apparatuses and I’m hoping to do well.”

Natalie Garcia of Mississauga, ON is in second place with 29.250 points following a strong ball performance, while Sophie Crane of Toronto, ON is just over one point behind with 28.050 in third place.

The junior group competition saw the HPTC International team from Winnipeg, MB take the lead with their five ropes routine, while in the novice competition, Christina Savchenko from Jusco RG laid down two solid routines to end the day sitting in first.

“Following day one of competition things are looking good,” said Teresa Orr, National Team Director for Rhythmic Gymnastics at Gymnastics Canada. “There are a lot of good athletes coming up in the novice and junior categories in addition to strong performances by some of the seniors.”

In addition to the national championship being on the line, gymnasts are also competing to represent Canada at the Pan American Championships in October. The winning group as well as the top three senior and top three junior athletes will qualify directly for the competition.

Day two of the Canadian Championships in Rhythmic Gymnastics will feature the clubs and ribbons routines for all individual competitors, as well as the crowning of the novice, junior open, senior open, and novice group apparatus and all-around champions. The top-15 athletes in the junior and senior categories will advance to the finals set to take place on Sunday.

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

 

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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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Julie Forget
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Cell: 819.210.2064
Email: jforget@gymcan.org