The best artistic swimmers from 23 countries, including Canada, competed at the World Aquatics Artistic Swimming World Cup at Pan Am Centre in Markham with the goal of representing their countries at the 2023 Olympics in Paris.
Team Canada has been preparing new routines since the 2022 World Championships in Budapest. It’s the first time Markham hosted World Aquatics and the event was the first in the four-stop World Cup series that includes competitions in Cairo, Egypt and Montpellier, France and culminates next fall with the 2023 Pan Am Games in Santiago, Chile.
Artistic swimming was previously known as synchronized swimming. Several Canadians earned medals at the competition, held March 16 to 18. Audrey Lamothe won silver in women solo technical and bronze in women solo free. Isabelle Blanchet-Rampling and Rene Robert Provost won silver in mixed duet free.
“Since its creation for the 2015 Pan American and ParaPan American Games, Markham’s Pan Am Centre has become known as a world-class facility consistently chosen to host international sport events,” says Markham Mayor, Frank Scarpitti. “The City of Markham is proud to not only continually be a major sports destination, but also of the rich sporting heritage and culture that is being cultivated in Markham.”
Canada is the only country that has hosted an edition of the World Cup every year since its inception in 2017, including virtual versions in 2021 and 2022.
Photo: Team Canada competes at the World Aquatics Artistic Swimming World Cup at Markham’s Pan An Centre. Photo courtesy of Antoine Saito/Canada Artistic Swimming.
