Alex Broadway/SWpix.com – FIBA - AP Photo/Thibault Camus
Team Canada athletes had a good weekend, leaving their mark in several competitions, including in Europe.
The Canadian women’s 3×3 basketball team captured a silver medal in France, strengthening its position in the world rankings ahead of Paris 2024. In the Netherlands, Bianca Andreescu, who was participating in her second tournament of the year, made his way to the final. In Italy, Isabella Holmgren dominated the women’s under-23 race of the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup cross-country event, demonstrating her talent in difficult conditions.
Discover the highlights of the weekend that set the table for Paris 2024:
Basketball 3×3: Canadian women silver medalists in France
Already assured of taking part in the Olympic tournament, the Canadian women’s 3×3 basketball team continued to string together good international results, taking second place at the FIBA Women’s 3×3 Series in Clermont-Ferrand. , In France.
READ: Basketball 3×3: Team Canada collects silver in France
Paige Crozon and Katherine Plouffe, two Olympic-qualified athletes, led the Canadian team alongside Cassandra Brown and Mackenzie Smith. The quartet came through the group stage brilliantly, beating China’s national under-24 team and Austria. In the elimination phase, they won their quarter-final against Puerto Rico in overtime before beating the Netherlands in the semi-final. However, the team lost 21-12 in the final against France.
This is a second podium of the season for Canada in the FIBA Women’s 3×3 Series. The Olympic-qualified quartet won the first tournament of the season in Springfield, Massachusetts, in late April.
Crozon and Plouffe, who will begin the Olympic tournament on July 30, will be joined by Michelle Plouffe and Kacie Bosch to mark Canada’s first Olympic participation in the sport which was added to the Olympic program at Tokyo 2020.
Tennis: Andreescu reaches final in preparation for Wimbledon
In only her second tournament since returning after a nine-month absence due to injury, Bianca Andreescu took part in the final at the Libéma Open on Sunday in ‘s-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands. In the final, she lost in three sets (4-6, 6-3, 7-5) against second seed Liudmila Samsonova.
READ: Andreescu loses in tournament final in ‘s-Hertogenbosch
It was almost a game of two halves. On her 24th birthday, Bianca Andreescu started strong with two quick breaks to win the first set 6-4. However, the Canadian seemed to feel pain in her left thigh which forced her to take a timeout while trailing 3-0 in the second set. She came back to win two straight games, but Liudmila Samsonova now dominated the court and won the second set 6-3.
The third and final set was unpredictable. At first it looked like Samsonova would easily take the trophy, but Andreescu fought back to level the score at 5-5. However, an untimely break allowed Samsonova to serve for the match, an opportunity she did not miss.
Andreescu returned to competition at Roland Garros a few weeks ago after being sidelined with a back injury. Her run to the final included a quarterfinal victory over four-time Grand Slam champion and former world number one Naomi Osaka.
In another grass-court tournament, the Rothesay Open in Nottingham, England, Gabriela Dabrowski won the women’s doubles with her New Zealand partner Erin Routliffe.
Mountain biking: Isabella Holmgren takes first place in Val di Sole
Isabella Holmgren dominated the women’s under-23 cross-country race at the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup on Sunday in Val di Sole, Italy. Leading from start to finish, his victory came in difficult course conditions after heavy overnight rain, making technical sections of roots and rocks dangerous.
Holmgren shone in the difficult conditions and led by more than a minute at the end of the second lap. The Canadian finished the race in one hour, 14 minutes and 54 seconds, 1 minute 26 seconds ahead of Frenchwoman Olivia Onesti. Three weeks ago, Holmgren won the UCI World Cup women’s under-23 race in Nové Město na Moravě, Czechia. This result put her in position to claim Canada’s only Olympic berth in women’s mountain biking. The Canadian cycling team for Paris 2024 will be revealed next week.
Canoe-kayak slalom: Betteridge sixth in the kayak cross event
Lois Betteridge reached the semi-finals of the women’s kayak cross event at the ICF Slalom World Cup in Krakow, Poland. She narrowly missed qualifying for the final which brought together the top four, finishing third in her semi-final. His time gave him sixth place in the general classification.
This was the third and final World Cup of the year for canoe-kayak slalom athletes. Betteridge is now preparing to represent Team Canada alongside Alex Baldoni in canoe-kayak slalom at Paris 2024. She will compete in all three women’s slalom events, C-1, K-1 and kayak cross.
Golf: Conners tied for ninth at U.S. Open
At the third major men’s tournament of the year, Corey Conners did exactly what he needed to do to secure his second Olympic appearance. Conners finished tied for ninth at the U.S. Open, finishing the tournament with par overall. It’s his second top-ten performance this year, following his solo sixth-place finish at the RBC Canadian Open earlier this month.
With this performance, Conners climbed nine places in the Official World Golf Ranking to 37th, one spot ahead of Adam Hadwin, securing Canada’s second spot for the men’s golf tournament at Paris 2024. Nick Taylor, who did not survive the cut at Pinehurst No. 2, qualifies for his first Olympic participation thanks to his 35th place in the world rankings.
