Canada wins gold in rhythmic gymnastics team event at Commonwealth Games
Canadian diver Caeli McKay captures bronze in women's 10-metre platform final
Canada's rhythmic gymnastics team put together a complete performance en route to gold on Thursday for Canada's 59th medal of the 2022 Commonwealth Games.
"The feeling I think [will be] hard to describe for the next few days until I get home and it actually kicks in that I'm a Commonwealth champion," Kallemaa said. "So I think the feeling is going to come a bit later. Right now it's all just so unbelievable."
Host England secured bronze with a total score of 267.050.
The rhythmic gymnastics competition continues through Saturday with the hoop, ball, clubs, ribbon and individual all-around events still to come.
WATCH | Canada takes rhythmic gymnastics gold:
McKay claims bronze
Canadian diver Caeli McKay captured bronze in the women's 10-metre platform final.
The 23-year-old from Calgary reached the podium after amassing 317.50 points on five dives at the Sandwell Aquatics Centre in Birmingham, England.
England's Andrea Spendolini-Sirieix claimed gold on the final dive of the event, finishing with 357.50 points. Compatriot Lois Mae Toulson took silver (337.30).
Fellow Canadian Olympian Celina Toth of Victoria, B.C., finished sixth with 298.40 points.
Canada remains third in the medal standings heading into the final three days of competition with 59 (17 gold, 20 silver, 22 bronze). Australia leads with 132 followed by England with 118.
WATCH | McKay soars to bronze:
McKay found herself in fourth place after earning 64.50 points on her opening dive, and she dropped down to seventh with just 56.00 points on her second. But she rebounded with a strong third dive — inward 3 ½ somersaults — that earned 75.20 points, vaulting her into second place with 195.70 entering the penultimate round.
"That's one that I can count on when I'm under pressure," she said. "I got a little frustrated after my second dive and kind of told myself I needed to wake up and get into the game. So that's usually my comeback dive."
Toth earned 72.00 points with the same dive in the fourth round, bumping her up from seventh to fourth entering the final round. McKay dropped to bronze position after her fourth dive, but she finished strong on her final dive to earn 62.40 points and momentarily move into first place.
McKay finished fourth in the preliminary round with 302.70 points, while Toth booked her spot in the final by finishing fifth with 297.30 points.
McKay returned from a lengthy injury recovery in June at the world championships in Budapest, where she managed to finish fifth in the same event.
She badly tore ligaments in her left ankle just a few weeks out from the Tokyo Olympics last summer, but she persevered and went on to finish fourth in the 10m synchronized platform event alongside now-retired Meaghan Benfeito.
Canada has won 16 gold, 20 silver and 22 bronze through seven days of competition at the Commonwealth Games.
Rogers sets Games record in women's hammer throw
Canadian hammer thrower Camryn Rogers advanced to the women's final earlier on Thursday with the best throw of the qualifying round.
The 23-year-old from Richmond, B.C., set a Games record with a throw 74.68 metres on her first and only throw of the day.
"That's always the goal [in qualifying], one and done," Rogers said.
Fellow Canadians Kaila Butler and Jillian Weir also qualified for Saturday's final with throws of 63.34m and 60.96m, respectively.
WATCH | Rogers sets Games record, advances to final in women's hammer throw:
Rodney advances to 200m semis
Two-time Olympic medallist sprinter Brendon Rodney secured his spot in the men's 200-metre semifinals, set to take place on Friday.
The 30-year-old from Etobicoke, Ont., posted a time of 20.84 seconds — the best in his heat.
Rodney is coming off a gold-medal performance in the men's 4x100m relay at the World Athletics Championships last month in Eugene, Ore.
Beach volleyballers undefeated
Canada's men's and women's beach volleyball teams went undefeated to top their groups.
Sam Schacter and Daniel Dearing, both from Toronto, capped the group stage with a 2-1 win over Gambia on Thursday.
Sarah Pavan and Melissa Humana-Paredes, the 2019 world champions, finished group play a day earlier with a 2-0 win over New Zealand.
With files from The Canadian Press
