OTTAWA –Canada wrapped up the Japan Open Monday finishing first in the Duet Free.
Marie-Pier Boudreau Gagnon and Chloe Isaac were exceptional in their performance and came away with a first-place score of 94.833. Japan’s Chisa Kobayashi and Yukiko Inui placed second with a score of 92.166, while the Japanese duet of Yumi Adachi and Mariko Sakai came third with a score of 92.000.
“We are extremely pleased with our results,” said Boudreau Gagnon. “We believe that we are one step closer to our final objective which is a medal at the World Aquatic Championships. We feel like we’re on top of the world right now.”
The performance added to an already memorable weekend for Canada who had finished first in Solo Tech, Solo Free and the Duet Tech.
Boudreau Gagnon, of Riviere-du-Loup, QC, had finished first in the Solo Tech, while Isaac, of Montreal, QC, was first in the Solo Free. Tracy Little, a native of Montreal, QC, and Elise Marcotte, of Ancienne Lorette, QC, were first in the Duet Tech event.
The foursome will now return to Canada where they will fine tune their routines in preparation for the upcoming World Aquatic Championships in Rome, Italy July 19 – August 2, 2009.
Canada’s marks were not reflected in the final standings of the Japan Open as they were considered to be swimming exhibition.
At the World Aquatic Championships teams will be allowed to have different individuals swim the Tech and Free routines, however such was not the case at the Japan Open as they were following a different set of rules than those that will be applied at the World Aquatic Championships. As exhibition competitors Canada did not advance to the finals.
The following is a link to the Japanese Synchro Federation using the Google translator http://translate.google.ca/translate?hl=en&sl=ja&u=http://www.swim.or.jp/&ei=p6H4SeNbmdwx_oSstQ8&sa=X&oi=translate&resnum=1&ct=result&prev=/search%3Fq%3Djapan%2Bswimming%2Bfederation%26hl%3Den)
