Gymnastics Canada – BAKU, AZE (September 19, 2019) – The individual competition portion of the 2019 FIG Rhythmic Gymnastics World Championships wrapped up for Canada on Thursday, with a personal best being recorded by Natalie Garcia of Mississauga, ON in ribbon, and Canada finishing 21^st overall in the team competition.
 
Garcia was the top-scoring Canadian for the ribbon portion of the competition with her 16.350 which concluded her first World Championships experience. She finished the competition ranked 62^nd in the world in the all-around with a total score of 50.600, after scoring a 17.200 with her clubs routine on Wednesday, and a 17.050 in hoop on the first day of competition.
 
“Worlds as a whole was pretty good for me,” said Garcia following the competition. “Not everything was perfect but overall I’m happy with how I did. My ribbon routine was definitely my highlight of the competition. I was really hoping to end on a strong note and to do my best as the previous competitions didn’t go so well for me in this apparatus. My goal coming in was to try and do my best while enjoying the moment!”
 
Katherine Uchida of Toronto finished the competition in 33^rd position in the all-around, tying her result from 2018. Her total score of 55.950 included her top-3 scores – a personal best in ball of 19.550, an 18.300 in clubs, and an 18.100 in hoop. She scored a 15.800 with her ribbon routine today.
 
“These World Championships have probably been one of my strongest yet. I was able to show some pretty consistent routines,” said Uchida who was competing in her third World Championships. “A definite highlight for me was ranking 19th with my ball routine with a personal best score. I know where I have to improve moving forward but I’m pleased, and I think I was able to leave a good impression and help support the team.”
 
Sophie Crane of Toronto, who was competing in her second World Championships, finished ranked 85^th overall with a total score of 43.700. She scored a 17.550 in ball, a 16.600 in clubs, and a 9.550 in ribbon.
 
“This World Championships went ok for me,” said Crane. “I’m quite happy with my first two performances with ball and clubs, but unfortunately I wasn’t able to keep the same momentum going for ribbon today. But I know that I can use this as a good learning experience, and it will help me improve for next year.”
 
The Russian athletes, and 2018 all-around World Champion Dina Averina in particular, continued to dominate the competition, taking gold in the ribbon and clubs competitions, and gold in the team competition. Averina was also the top qualifier for the all-around finals which take place tomorrow.
 
The top-16 finishers in the all-around competition at this Worlds will book their tickets for the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. With no athletes advancing to the all-around finals for Canada, the next opportunity to qualify will be at a Continental Championships to be held in May next year.
 
“I knew my chances to qualify from these worlds were slim,” said Uchida. “European countries really dominate at these World Championships. My biggest chance is at the continental championships next year. It will take a very strong delivery, but I’m in good spirits and I know what I’m capable of. I am ready to put in a lot of hard work and I’m very motivated going into 2020. I want to be able to compete to my full capacity and not hold myself back at all in competitions – fearless performances and consistency are going to be really important if I want to achieve my goal.”
 
Next up for Canada at these Worlds will be the group competition which begins on Saturday and will feature both the 5 balls, and 3 hoops + 2 pairs of clubs performances. The Canadian group is composed of Carmel Kallemaa, Diana Noskova, Vanessa Panov, Alexandra Udachina, Carmen Whelan, and Alexandra Zilyuk – all of Toronto.
 
The competition will wrap-up on Sunday with the finals for both performances. The top-5 groups in the all-around competition will qualify for Tokyo.
 
For full results, please visit: https://live.gymnastics.sport/schedule.php?idevent=13338
 
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