Canadian women's water polo team continues quest for Olympic spot at Pan Am Games
Tourney is 1st of 2 remaining chances for Canada to qualify for Paris 2024
After qualifying for the Olympics for the first time in 17 years in Tokyo, the Canadian women's water polo team wants to make sure it becomes a regular occurrence.
The first of two remaining chances to punch a ticket to Paris comes at the 2023 Pan American Games, beginning Monday in Santiago, Chile. The winner of the tournament earns one of the 12 berths to next summer's Olympics.
"The Olympics are always the goal," Canadian captain Emma Wright told CBC Sports on a recent call.
It won't be an easy task for Wright and her 11 teammates this time around, for a couple reasons.
One, the qualifying path is more tooth and nail for Paris, and two, the team has undergone some significant personnel changes.
It was a different vibe altogether at the 2019 Pan Am Games in Lima. Canada knew if it made it to the final along with the United States, they would qualify for the Tokyo Olympics regardless of the result, for the first time since Athens 2004.
That was because the Americans had already locked up their spot at the Olympics after taking the gold medal at that year's World Aquatics Championships.
This time around, though, the U.S. failed to make the medal round at the 2023 worlds in Fukuoka, Japan, marking the first time they didn't finish on the podium at a major tournament in a decade.
'We feel that pressure'
The Americans will be extra motivated to lock up their spot and go for their fourth straight Olympic gold medal.
"It's definitely a different mood going into these Games. We feel that pressure," said Wright, whose team lost 16-4 in the fifth-place bracket to the Americans at the recent world championships.
"Obviously, we want to qualify, and that's our main goal. But, again, it's important for us that we play our best game every single game and not only that potential final game against the U.S., especially because this isn't our only chance to qualify. We also have the [2024] world championships. Just making sure we stay focused and remember that our end goal is to get to the Olympics."
Significant turnover
Teams and sports often see athlete turnover from Olympic quadrennial to Olympic quadrennial, but in the case of the women's water polo team, it was significant in this shortened cycle.
Half of the squad that finished seventh at Tokyo 2020 has either retired or moved on to other ventures.
"Sometimes life gets in the way. It's a new reality post-COVID. It's not just our sport," said Canadian head coach David Paradelo. "It's challenging in terms of athletes who have to get up to speed in a quick way and without a lot of experience. The biggest drop-off is the experience we lost.
The losses have left big holes. Joëlle Békhazi and Monika Eggens, who both played through multiple Olympic cycles, utility player Kelly McKee and goalkeeper Claire Wright all retired. Standout left-handed attacker Kyra Christmas also announced her retirement from the national team in a vulnerable Instagram post this August at the age of 26, citing her mental health. Gurpreet Sohi is currently in medical school.
Veteran attacker Shae Laroche, who is part of the leadership group, is currently injured but travelling with the team as a video assistant.
Despite the roster turnover, Paradelo said it's an opportunity for a crop of young athletes coming up in the ranks.
"We had a good system to keep a lot of younger athletes active through the [2022] world championships in Budapest with a B team travelling and playing events that summer, so we were able to give experience to some athletes who weren't quite ready to make the senior roster for the major tournaments."
Browne moving into starting lineup
One of those players is 19-year-old Serena Browne. With Laroche's absence, the six-foot-two Montreal native is moving up into the starting lineup. And watch out for her shot, says Wright.
"Serena has shown up a lot. She's proven that she's a really important player. She is really young, so she does lack some experience, but what she lacks in experience she gives in just in pure strength. Her shot is crazy. You want to jump out of the way."
Some younger players who have been working their way up the last few years include Verica Bakoc, Floranne Carroll and Blaire McDowell. Rae Lekness, a top scorer in NCAA water polo, returned to the squad last season after taking some time off.
Tokyo returnees include Wright, Axelle Crevier, Elyse Lemay-Lavoie, Hayley McKelvey, Kindred Paul and Clara Vulpisi. Goalkeeper Jessica Gaudreault was an alternate for Tokyo but has world championship experience.
Five countries have already qualified for the 2024 Olympics. That includes the Netherlands and Spain, who locked up their berths by finishing first and second, respectively, at this summer's World Aquatics Championships in Fukuoka. Australia won the Oceania region, China the Asian region, and France qualified as hosts.
Still to be decided are the Pan Am champion, European champion in January, African champion in February plus the two highest-ranked teams that have yet to qualify at the 2024 worlds in Doha in February.
Final chance to qualify
If Canada doesn't qualify in Santiago, it will have a chance at the worlds. The good news is that they've had positive results against the nations they're in direct competition with for those final berths, including a one-goal loss to Hungary at the world championships, a one-goal loss to Italy in a training game, and a two-goal win over Greece at worlds.
Paradelo says he's very optimistic they'll get back to the Olympics, but they have to stay on task.
"We're looking at Pan Ams first. It's not that we're looking ahead to performing world championships and putting all eggs in one basket right now. We're developing our system, working with our new personnel and executing our game," he said of the team, which is centralizing in Montreal for the calendar year.
"It's going to be tight but even with our new change of guard, I believe that we're getting significantly better. We're getting more exposure. We're also training together way more. I'm very optimistic and encouraged by how our athletes are responding."
WATCH l Canada vs. Hungary at 2023 World Aquatics Championships:
For Wright, this is her third Pan Am Games. The 26-year-old from Whitby, Ont., knows what it's like to be the so-called "new kid on the block."
As for any advice she's passed along to her teammates experiencing their first multi-sport Games, she said it's about taking in the moment and enjoying it even with all the pressure of qualifying.
"As veterans, I think remembering they're sometimes nervous, but making sure we're always being supportive and feeding their fight and fire for the game. They're definitely being asked to do a lot right now because so many players have retired, but they're putting in a lot of work.
"I'm excited to see what they'll be able to do in the next few tournaments."
Canada's rosters
Women's team
- Verica Bakoc — Toronto
- Serena Browne — Pointe-Claire, Que.
- Floranne Carroll — Montreal
- Axelle Crevier — Montréal
- Jessica Gaudreault — Ottawa
- Rae Lekness — Calgary
- Elyse Lemay-Lavoie — Calgary
- Blaire McDowell — Fernie, B.C.
- Hayley McKelvey — North Delta, B.C.
- Kindred Paul — Spruce Grove, Alta.
- Clara Vulpisi — Montreal
- Emma Wright — Whitby, Ont.
- Daphné Guèvremont — Montreal (alternate)
Men's team
- Jérémie Blanchard — Longueuil, Que.
- Nicolas Constantin-Bicari — Repentigny, Que.
- Jérémie Côté — Pointe-Claire, Que.
- Bogdan Djerkovic — Ottawa
- Reuel D'Souza — Port Coquitlam, B.C.
- Aleksa Gardijan — Gatineau, Que.
- Leo Hachem — Montreal
- Matthew Halajian — Calgary
- Brody McKnight — Regina
- Jason O'Donnell — Beaconsfield, Que.
- Gaelan Patterson — North Vancouver, B.C.
- Milan Radenovic — Montreal
- Bryant Joudrie — Calgary (alternate)
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