Denis Vachon leads Canada's double mini-trampoline team to silver at worlds
Hamilton athlete also earns berth in individual DMT finals
Experience trumped any pressure Canada's Denis Vachon may have felt as he collected a silver medal Friday at the 2015 world trampoline championships in Denmark.
The 31-year-old Hamilton resident led the men's national double mini-trampoline (DMT) team to a second-place finish with 109.300 points, matching the United States, which also won silver, behind Russia's 117.700 points.
Jon Schwaiger of Burlington, Ont., Kyle Carragher of Port Coquitlam, B.C., and Douglas Armstrong of Surrey, B.C., are the other members of the Canadian squad.
It was a lot of fun being out there, a lot of pressure, and a lot of hype with Denmark being in the team final but our guys handled it well.- Denis Vachon after leading Canadian men's team to silver in double-mini trampoline
Vachon, who plans to retire following the competition, will get one more chance at a medal after he qualified fifth for Saturday's individual DMT finals in Odense.
"It was a lot of fun being out there, a lot of pressure, and a lot of hype with Denmark being in the team final but our guys handled it well," Vachon said in a statement released by Gymnastics Canada. "It was a great experience."
Armstrong also qualified for the individual finals with an 11th-place performance, while Carragher and Schwaiger were 18th and 19th, respectively, in the field of 34.
Vachon is a four-time national DMT champion that also holds the world record for total difficulty and highest total score. He heads the trampoline and tumbling program at the Burlington (Ont.) BG's Gymnastics Club and has coached more than 20 national team members.
Elsewhere on Friday, Danielle Gruber of Kelowna, B.C., advanced to the final with a second-place showing among 27 competitors, earning 69.300 points. Andreia Robalo of Portugal led the way with 69.600 points.
O'Brien bumped from women's final
Tamara O'Brien of Port Coquitlam was squeezed out of the eight-woman final by Russia's Polina Troianova, finishing ninth, while Calgary's Arden Oh and Karine Dufour of Laval, Que., were 13th and 25th.
The Canadian athletes, though, will compete in Sunday's team final after finishing second.
In women's trampoline, the Canadian foursome of Rosie MacLennan, Karen Cockburn, Samantha Sendel and Samantha Smith was fourth.
Brothers Kyle and Keegan Soehn of Red Deer, Alta., posted a 20th-place finish in the men's synchronized trampoline qualification.
Saturday's schedule includes the double-mini and synchronized trampoline and tumbling finals.