Canada’s women’s artistic gymnastics team earned a silver medal at the Commonwealth Games on Saturday, achieving a total score of 157.300. This marked the second consecutive day that Canada reached the podium, demonstrating the team’s depth, consistency, and resilience across all four apparatus.
The silver-medal winning team included Ellie Black, Gabrielle Black, Lia-Monica Fontaine, Lia Redick, and Alyssa Guerrier-Calixte. Each gymnast contributed to the team’s performance, with individual highlights across various events.
Fontaine led the Canadian contingent on vault with a strong showing. Ellie Black delivered one of the team’s top routines on the balance beam. Redick showcased a dynamic performance on the floor exercise, while Guerrier-Calixte provided an important vault score. Gabrielle Black also made a valuable contribution to the team’s overall effort.
Ellie Black, a women’s all-around finalist, expressed enthusiasm about competing again. She noted that this event was her first all-around competition since her return, and she had only recently resumed training for vault and floor. Despite this, she expressed pride in competing all-around with her team and experiencing the Commonwealth Games once more.
Individual Qualifications and Further Competition
Both Ellie Black and Fontaine advanced to the women’s all-around final following their qualification performances. Black topped the standings, qualifying first overall with a score of 53.400. Fontaine secured her spot in the final in fifth place with a score of 52.050.
Canada’s strong performance in the individual qualifications also resulted in multiple apparatus final spots. Fontaine led the vault standings with a score of 13.750. Ellie Black advanced to the uneven bars final, placing second with 13.850.
Both Ellie Black and Fontaine are also set to represent Canada in the balance beam final, having qualified fifth and sixth, respectively, with scores of 12.900 and 12.850. Redick was named as the second reserve on uneven bars, achieving a score of 12.650.
The Commonwealth Games, which run through August 2, feature 3,000 athletes from 74 countries and territories. This year’s competition was downsized after Glasgow stepped in to host when the Australian state of Victoria withdrew in 2023 due to rising hosting costs. The event includes 10 sports, with six sports also featuring their Para sport counterparts.
Canadian Successes Across Sports
The women’s gymnastics silver medal adds to Canada’s growing medal count at the Commonwealth Games. On the second day of competition, Canada had already secured four medals, including one gold and one silver.
In swimming, Oliver Dawson from Grand Prairie, Alta., competed in his first Commonwealth Games and finished fourth in the men’s 100-metre breaststroke final, just .05 seconds shy of a podium spot with a time of 59.70. Ella Jansen of Burlington, Ont., reached the finals for the second consecutive night, placing eighth in the women’s 200-metre freestyle with a time of 1:59.18. Paralympian Emma Van Dyk placed seventh in the 200M S14 freestyle event, clocking a time of 2:31.24.
Earlier in the Games, the Canadian men’s artistic gymnastics team won gold on Friday at the Glasgow International Arena, scoring 241.400 points. They finished ahead of England, which scored 238.250, and Australia, with 235.650. This marked Canada’s first Commonwealth gymnastics team title in 20 years.
The men’s team included Paris 2024 Olympian Félix Dolci, William Émard, Ethan Ikeda, Jordan Carroll, and René Cournoyer. Coach Jean-Sébastien Tougas noted the team’s hard work and satisfaction with their performance.
Canada also achieved success in Para swimming. Mary Jibb of Muskoka, Ont., secured a bronze medal in the women’s 200-metre individual medley SM10. Following this, Jack Gill of Brockville, Ont., added another Para swimming bronze in the men’s 100-metre butterfly S10 final. Gill, 21, was competing in his first Commonwealth Games.
Canada’s 3×3 wheelchair basketball teams also started strong, with the women’s team defeating South Africa 19-3, led by Élodie Tessier’s 10 points and four rebounds. The men’s team also won their opening game against Kenya 16-3, with Reed Michael De’aeth contributing eight points and 11 rebounds. Both teams are scheduled to face their English counterparts on Sunday.
The Commonwealth Games in Glasgow are hosting the largest Para sport program in the event’s history, with Para sport results included in a country’s medal tally.
Source: sportsnet.ca
