Team Canada was golden again on day three of the UANA Open Water Championships, with wins in all four races.
Alex Katelnikoff and Chantal Jeffrey won gold in the junior 2.5-km races, while Stephanie Horner and Nicholas Masse-Savard won the senior 5-km races.
Katelnikoff and teammate Raben Dommann, who finished second, led for the entirety of the 2.5-km swim.
“The race felt really nice, the water was flat.” said Katelnikoff. “Raben and I switched off leading throughout the race. We made a move halfway through the first lap, trying to put pressure on the rest of the group.”
Masse-Savard also held the lead for his entire 5-km race. He had to fend off Peru’s Piera Nascimento at the finish to secure gold.
Jeffrey touched out Peruvian Fanny Sanchez by 0.2 seconds in the junior women’s 2.5-km in a very close finish that saw Marianne Rheaume and Marit Anderson finish third and fourth.
Three-time Olympian Horner battled through a kick in the face to win the senior women’s 5-km. Breanne Siwicki finished third in the 5-km. Both will represent Canada at next month’s FINA World Championships in Budapest, Hungary.
“We’re delighted that we raced in four races and come away with four golds. We had numerous strategies that we wanted to work on, and I’m exceptionally pleased that everyone racing had listened to the things they had been taught and tried out new ways of racing. Everything I saw today was a really good learning experience for our team” said Mark Perry, Swimming Canada Open Water/Distance Coach.
The 2017 UANA Pan American Open Water Swimming Championships conclude Monday. Eleven Canadians are racing over the four days of competition in the Cayman Islands.
Horner and Masse-Savard finished third in Saturday’s Flowers One Mile Sea Swim after teaming with Édouard Bélanger and Siwicki to finish second in the 5000-m relay Friday. Canada kicked off the championships with gold for the junior team of Katelnikoff, Dommann, Anderson and Rheaume in the 2500-m relay.
Press release courtesy of Swimming Canada
Congratulations