Gymnastics Success at Glasgow International Arena
Félix Dolci, a gymnast from Laval, Quebec, secured multiple gold medals for Canada at the Commonwealth Games. On Tuesday, Dolci achieved a winning average of 13.766 in the men’s vault, surpassing Luke Whitehouse of England, who scored 13.749, and Neofytos Kyriakou of Cyprus, who scored 13.733. This marked Dolci’s third gold medal of the Games.
Dolci continued his success by winning another gold in the men’s horizontal bar with a score of 14.233. His fellow Laval native, William Émard, earned a bronze medal in this event, while Marios Georgiou of Cyprus took silver. Earlier in the day, Dolci also claimed a bronze medal in the parallel bars, scoring 13.300, bringing his total medal count for the day to three and six overall at the Games.
The Glasgow International Arena has been a site of significant achievement for Canadian gymnasts. On Monday, Dolci had previously won gold in the men’s rings final, scoring 13.766, edging out Émard, who scored 13.600. Australia’s James Hardy secured bronze with 13.500. This victory was particularly notable for Dolci, who had faced challenges earlier in the competition, including settling for silver in the all-around final and narrowly missing the podium in the individual floor event.
Another Canadian gymnast, Lia-Monica Fontaine from Salaberry-de-Valleyfield, Quebec, added to the medal tally. On Tuesday, the 16-year-old earned a bronze medal in the women’s balance beam with a score of 13.000, surpassing teammate Ellie Black, who scored 12.966. This was Fontaine’s fourth medal of the event. On Monday, Fontaine had also won gold in the women’s vault with a score of 14.000, beating England’s Abigail Martin (13.799) and Wales’ Abigail Roper (13.433). She had also secured a bronze in the all-around final and contributed to Canada’s silver medal in the women’s team event.
Canada has demonstrated strong performance in gymnastics, leading the standings with 16 medals, including seven gold, over five days of competition at the Glasgow International Arena. Other notable gymnastic achievements include Jordan Carroll of Saskatoon winning gold in the men’s pommel horse with a score of 15.000, and Ellie Black of Halifax securing silver in the women’s uneven bars. René Cournoyer of Repentigny, Quebec, also earned silver in the men’s floor exercise.
Weightlifting and Para Sports Contributions
In weightlifting, Maude Charron, a two-time Olympic medalist from Rimouski, Quebec, earned her third consecutive title at the Commonwealth Games. Competing in the women’s 63-kilogram category, Charron achieved successful lifts of 102kg in the snatch and 130kg in the clean and jerk, resulting in a winning total of 232. England’s Sarah Davies Smale claimed silver with 217, and Femily-Crystie Notte of Nauru took bronze with 216.
Other Canadian weightlifters also contributed to the medal count. Ann-Sophie Taschereau of Plessisville, Quebec, secured a silver medal in the women’s 58-kilogram category, while Rebeka Groulx of Saint-Bruno-de-Montarville, Quebec, won bronze in the women’s 53kg event.
Canada also saw success in Para sports. Para swimmer Nicolas-Guy Turbide of Quebec City earned a bronze medal in the men’s 50-metre freestyle S13. In Para athletics, Michael Barber of Victoria finished second in the men’s 1,500-metre T20 final with a time of 4:01.84. Zachary Gingras of Markham, Ontario, won bronze with a personal best of 11.55 seconds in the men’s 100 T38 final.
Overall Canadian Performance
The Canadian contingent has accumulated a total of 21 medals by Day 5 of the Games, which are scheduled to conclude on Sunday. This tally includes seven gold, eight silver, and six bronze medals, placing Canada third in the overall medal standings, behind Australia and England.
In other events, Olympic silver medalist Joshua Liendo of Toronto, who previously won gold in the men’s 100-metre butterfly on Sunday, finished fourth in the 100 freestyle. The Canadian men’s and women’s wheelchair basketball teams both faced losses to Australia in pool play, with the men losing 20-12 and the women dropping a 12-10 decision in overtime after Élodie Tessier tied the game at 10-10 with 2.7 seconds remaining in regulation.
Source: theglobeandmail.com
