Young Canadian artistic swimming team gains experience at Paris 2024
If you want to have an iconic routine, you might as well go with the setlist from an iconic Super Bowl halftime show.
Performing to the sounds of Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Mary J. Blige and Kendrick Lamar, Canada’s artistic swimming team took to the pool one last time at Paris 2024 on Wednesday.
Canada’s music choice certainly stood out from that of the rest of the teams competing in the acrobatic routine, with mixes ranging from classical to modern day pop. The music choice reflected the team perfectly, said Claire Scheffel.
“It definitely fits our team’s vibe,” said the 20-year-old. “We’re always dancing, always singing, even prepping for this event. It’s part of our way to get in the game. We love to dance and sing and the hip hop really lets us express ourselves.”
The squad of Scheffel, Scarlett Finn, Audrey Lamothe, Jonnie Newman, Raphaelle Plante, Kenzie Priddell, Jacqueline Simoneau and Florence Tremblay had the sixth best score in the acrobatic routine and placed sixth overall in the competition’s standings.
Sydney Carroll is also part of the team as a travelling alternate.
The artistic swimming team event took place over three days with each day featuring a different routine: technical, free and acrobatic.
In their first routine, the technical routine, Canada posted a score of 262.4808, placing them seventh in the 10-team competition. In their second routine, the free routine, the Canadians inched up to sixth spot with a score of 343.6854. They had a two-day total of 606.1662.
Canada needed a strong performance in their final outing, the acrobatic routine, as well as that hope some of the top teams faltered in order to reach the podium. The team, performing to their Super Bowl LVI halftime show mix, scored 253.0567, which placed them third for a brief time.
But there were still some top teams to perform and eventually China took the gold, followed by the United States who took silver and Spain who won bronze.
Canada finished 41.509 points off the podium. It’s the second straight Games that Canada finished sixth in the team event. They haven’t reached the podium since Sydney 2000.
The Canadians were considered underdogs heading into Paris – but the team’s steady improvement over the past year perhaps made them a wildcard — especially with a relatively new scoring system. The group captured bronze at the Santiago 2023 Pan Am Games and have won multiple medals during World Aquatics Artistic Swimming World Cup stops this year.
The more experience this group gets, they better they become. Paris 2024 was another key part in that positive progress.
“It was magical,” Scheffel said of the experience in Paris. “I mean, we have our whole family up in the crowd. We can see the chunks of red all over the stadium and our team has been through so much together. So this moment really helped us close and finish our long journey together in such a beautiful way.”
Simoneau, who is now a three-time Olympian, is the only member of team with Olympic experience. Her Games aren’t over just yet as she’ll team up with Lamothe in the duet event, which begins Friday with the technical routine and ends on Saturday with the free routine.
Simoneau has had an interesting journey to Paris, retiring from competition following Tokyo 2020 to focus on her schooling. She made the decision to return to the sport and national team in 2023.
The 27-year-old and Lamothe, 19, made their competitive debut together at the 2024 World Championships where they placed fifth in the duet free and seventh in duet technical. They also won medals on the World Cup circuit this year – and now will try and do the same at the Olympic Games.