Strong results for Canadian gymnasts at Portugal World Cup
LOULÉ, POR, (September 30, 2017) – Team Canada senior trampoline and tumbling gymnasts yielded strong results at the FIG Trampoline World Cup in Loulé, Portugal this weekend, finishing with three top eight results.
Jordan Sugrim of Mississauga, ON, finished fifth with 63.500 points in the women’s tumbling final, moving up one spot from her preliminary results.? Fangfang Jia of China won the gold medal with 73.000 points
“I’m really proud of myself for hitting all four of my passes again in international competition,” said Sugrim. “I have been on a lighter training plan since the World Games in order to save myself for the preparation for the World Championships in November. I don’t think I could have done any better at this point in my preparation.”
Jonathon Schwaiger of Calgary, AB, finished fourth with 69.600 points in the men’s tumbling final. Mikhail Malkin of Azerbaidjan won the competition with 74.500 points.
“I took a break following the World Games in order to have the stamina to push hard for a strong peak at Worlds,” said Schwaiger. “Considering I did watered down passes at this event, I’m pleased with my fourth place finish.”
Team Canada’s coach for this event, Denis Vachon, was happy with the overall results: “I’m very pleased with another top five performance on the World Cup floor from both Jordan and Jon,” said Vachon. “This experience will provide us with great motivation heading into the final phase of World preparation. We know what we need to tackle in order to challenge the best in five weeks.”
Samantha Smith of Vancouver, BC, finished fifth with 53.525 points in the women’s trampoline final. Smith qualified in ninth place and entered finals due to the limitation of two athletes per country. Yana Pavlova of Russia won the competition with 57.635 points.
“Overall, I’m really happy with my performance today,” said Smith. “It’s my best outcome at a World Cup so far, and a really good stepping-stone for the World Championships. Learning how to balance training since starting my master’s degree in physiotherapy had been tough, but I’m glad it’s starting to pay off! I’m really excited to be competing this year, and really grateful to my coaches and teammates for their support. ”
Sophiane Méthot of La Prairie, QC, finished 12th in the women’s trampoline competition, while Rachel Tam of Toronto, ON, finished 20th overall, marking a best ranking ever at a World Cup for both women. Sarah Milette of Longueuil, QC fiished14th in women’s trampoline.
Tam and Smith paired up together and finished 10th in the women’s synchronized trampoline competition. Catherine McNutt achieved her best ever World Cup result, finishing 9th in the women’s tumbling competition.
Next week the Canadian Team will compete at the Valladolid World Cup in Spain, displaying a full team of men and women in Trampoline gymnastics. This will be the last international competition in preparation for World Championships that will be held in Sofia, Bulgaria from November 9-12.
Click here to see who will be competing for Team Canada at the 2017 Trampoline Gymnastics World Championships.
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