Canada Artistic Swimming – Gwangju, July 11, 2019 – Team Canada is in Gwangju, Korea, for the 2019 FINA World Championships that get underway tomorrow at the Yeomju Gymnasium. The 4,300-spectator facility will play host to the World Championships’ artistic swimming competition, featuring 10 events over the next 9 days, from July 12 to 20. Outfitted with a temporary pool, the venue has been designed to offer spectators an intimate viewing experience specially-suited to the sport.
Team Canada, having just been crowned the first-ever FINA World Series champions, comes into the event poised to continue its successful season. After earning 36 medals in 2019 on the World Series circuit (10 gold, 13 silver, 13 bronze), the confident 12-member squad arrived in Korea on Monday to prepare for the week ahead that will include participation in the technical and free events in solo, duet and team, as well as the highlight routine.
Head Coach Gábor Szauder is pleased by the team’s constant progression over the past 6 months and will be looking for a strong performance this week in Gwangju:
“We have a talented team that has learned how to believe in itself this year. Our preparation has been going extremely well and after winning the World Series title this year, we are here to show the world that we are ready to make our mark, not only this week in Korea but also at the end of the month at the Pan American Games in Peru, where we can qualify for the 2020 Olympic Games. I have amazing swimmers and a great staff around me, the atmosphere surrounding the team is great and we are ready to rock the world!”
Representing Canada in Korea will be:
SOLO: Jacqueline Simoneau (Chambly, QC)
DUET: Claudia Holzner (Calgary, AB) and Jacqueline Simoneau (Chambly, QC) with alternate Halle Pratt (Calgary, AB)
TEAM: Emily Armstrong (Toronto, ON), Catherine Barrett (St. John’s, NL), Andrée-Anne Côté (St-Georges, QC), Camille Fiola-Dion (Rimouski, QC), Rebecca Harrower (Edmonton, AB), Claudia Holzner (Calgary, AB), Audrey Joly (St-Eustache, QC), Sion Ormond (Aurora, ON), Halle Pratt (Calgary, AB), Kenzie Priddell (Regina, SK), Jacqueline Simoneau (Chambly, QC) and Cassandra Winkelaar (Edmonton, AB)
In addition to Head Coach Szauder, Canada’s Assistant Coaches are Kasia Kulesza and Karine Doré. The team is also accompanied by physiotherapist Katie Smith and mental performance consultant Véronique Richard. International FINA judge Diane van der Pol has been named to attend the event, while Canadian Louise Kennedywill act as evaluator.
The competition gets underway on Friday with the presentation of the solo and duet technical preliminary events. Jacqueline Simoneau, on the heels of her most successful World Series season yet, will be performing her “Everybody wants to rule the world” technical solo for what might be the last time, as she has been preparing a completely new technical routine that she plans to premiere in the finals.
In the evening session, Simoneau and partner Claudia Holzner, winners of 9 medals this year on the World Series circuit, will be looking to build on their season’s success and climb up the world rankings.
All events from the competition can be watched live on FINA tv. Here is the schedule for Friday, July 12:
Solo Technical (start #10/28) – 11:00 local time (Fri) / 22:00 EDT (Thu)
Duet Technical (start #4/45) – 16:00 local time / 3:00 EDT
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