Gymnastics Canada – MEDELLIN, COL (April 27, 2018) – Canadian gymnasts had a successful first day at the 2018 Pacific Rim Championships taking place in Medellin, Colombia, finishing the day with four medals and qualifying for multiple finals.
 
The men’s artistic team composed of seniors Joel Gagnon of Regina, SK, William Émard of Laval, QC, and Chris Kaji of Vancouver, BC and juniors Felix Dolci of Laval, QC, Evgeny Siminiuc of Mississauga, ON, and David Sandro of Acton, ON finished the day with a silver medal around their necks, despite having to shuffle their line-up at the last minute after Émard injured his knee in warm-up. Sandro also captured a bronze medal in the junior men’s all-around competition, while Siminiuc finished just off the podium in fourth.
 
“Today was really awesome. Unfortunately William hurt himself right before the event so we had to change the line-ups and stuff, but the guys really rose to the occasion, and we went and hit a lot of awesome routines. The energy was awesome, and I’m so happy to be coming away with the silver medal,” said Gagnon who is currently finishing up his last year of studies at the University of Minnesota.
 
Sandro echoed Gagnon’s sentiments about the team’s performance and reflected on his own: “When it comes to the team, I’m really proud of everyone. We came into this knowing that we were facing a lot of countries that are known well internationally and we knew it would be a challenge. Then with William getting injured, we thought the team was going to be a bust, but we pulled through and supported each other well and came second which was our original goal. In the all-around, I was edged by .3 so I have to learn from this, but I’m still proud of myself and the team.”
 
The United States took the team gold medal, while Colombia captured bronze. The men’s competition continues Sunday with the apparatus finals for juniors and seniors.
 
The Canadian senior women’s synchronized trampoline team of Laurence Roux of Blainville, QC and Kalena Soehn of Red Deer, AB also captured a silver medal today, while the senior men’s synchronized team of Andrew Martin of Newmarket, ON and Jacob Cranham of Whitby, ON hung on for a bronze medal despite Martin competing with an injured ankle.
 
“With an injury it was tough, but we pulled through and did our best and ended up with a bronze which was pretty sweet. Now I’m looking forward to tomorrow!” said Martin.
 
Declan MacLean of Burnaby, BC is the only junior in the men’s individual trampoline competition to advance to the finals, while Alexandra Boucher of Calgary, AB moves forward in the junior women’s competition. On the senior individual trampoline side, both Cranham and Martin have qualified for finals, while only Roux qualified for the senior women’s finals. The trampoline competition will wrap up Saturday with individual and team finals.
 
In rhythmic competition, senior Jaedyn Andreotti of Kelowna, BC qualified for both the ball and hoop finals on Sunday, while fellow senior Athena Tsaltas of Keswick, ON qualified for the ball final. Junior athletes Michel Vivier of Vaughn, ON, and Natalie Garcia of Mississauga, ON have both qualified for the ball and hoop finals while the junior group is currently sitting in second, with their clubs routine to come tomorrow.
 
The women’s artistic gymnastics competition begins tomorrow night with their team finals and individual qualifications.
 
For complete results from today’s competition, visit: http://fedecolgim.co/PacificRim/main.php
 
For a complete list of the Canadian team, as well as a schedule of events, visit: http://gymcan.org/news/details/2018_PACRIM_TEAM_EN
 
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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Julie Forget
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Email: jforget@gymcan.org