Canada's synchro swim duet qualifies for medal round
Jacqueline Simoneau and Karine Thomas put in solid technical routine to move on
By Pete Evans, CBC Sports
Canada's synchronized swimming duet of Jacqueline Simoneau and Karine Thomas have qualified for the medal round in Rio on Monday.
- SCHEDULE & RESULTS: Complete synchronized swimming coverage at the Rio Olympics
- WATCH REPLAY: Canada puts in solid performance in technical routine to move on
The duo were in seventh place after their free routine, and followed that up with the same result for their technical routine. The top 12 teams out of 24 competitors move on.
ICYMI | <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/CAN?src=hash">#CAN</a> Jacqueline Simoneau, Karine Thomas are 3rd in qualification with 10 duets left. <a href="https://t.co/max4rgFmYN">https://t.co/max4rgFmYN</a> <a href="https://t.co/ETuxkHeZRQ">https://t.co/ETuxkHeZRQ</a>
—@CBCOlympicsScores from the qualification rounds are wiped out in the finals, so it's anyone's game from here on and the Canadians could be a dark horse for a medal. The medal round is set to go Tuesday at 1 p.m. ET.
"We really wanted to go out there and prove that Canada is still in the running for a podium," Thomas told the CBC after her performance.
While Canada has won gold before, in recent years the event has been dominated by Russia, who have won every Olympic gold medal dating back to the 2000 Games in Sydney.
The Russian duo of Natalia Ishchenko and Svetlana Romashina have won the last two Olympic golds, and they were the best team through the round of qualifying in Rio. They are heavily favoured to win another championship. They're being pressured by the Chinese team of Xuechen Huang and Wenyan Sun, who qualified in second place.
The women's team event goes later this week on Thursday and Friday.