Guertin scores another top 10 finish for young open water team from Canada
Guertin scores another top 10 finish for young open water team
BARCELONA – Montreal’s Philippe Guertin swam near the front of the pack all day on the way to a 9th-place finish in the men’s 25-km open water marathon Saturday at FINA World Championships in Barcelona.
The world championships rookie swam the intense race in 4:48:46.8, finishing just over a minute behind the front pack of eight. Thomas Lurz of Germany was the winner in 4:47:27.0, edging Belgium’s Brian Rycheman by 0.4 seconds. Evegenii Drattchev of Russia took the bronze in 4:47:28.1. Guertin ranked as high as fourth after the seventh of 10 laps of the 2.5-km course at Moll de la Fusta.
“I felt good until the ninth lap. I made a couple gutsy moves and I think it paid off. I’m still not used to fighting in a pack for 25 km like that. It wasn’t easy but I’m getting there,” said the 22-year-old. “I gave it all I got. If I made mistakes I’ll learn from them. My coach will tell me but I have no regrets for this race and I’m looking forward to the future.”
Swimming Canada High Performance Director John Atkinson was proud of the young swimmer’s performance in his first worlds.
“Philippe Guertin performed exceptionally well. He was with the leading pack all the way through the race in his first 25-km,” Atkinson said. “To finish with a top-10 position in the 25-km is testament to him and his coach Claude St-Jean for the work that they’ve done to prepare him for the world championships.”
It was Canada’s third top-10 finish in men’s open water events, to go along with Eric Hedlin’s silver medal in the 5-km and Richard Weinberger’s fifth place in the 10-km.
“(My teammates) pushed me a lot, especially to see that they had a lot of attention from it and I wanted to prove that I’m able to do it,” Guertin said. “I didn’t get a medal unfortunately but in my first 25-km, I can’t ask for much better.”
Guertin’s swim earned Canada points in the overall open water championships standings. Canada finished tied with France for seventh, with Brazil on top ahead of Germany and the U.S.
“To have three different guys all in top 10 places in the three men’s individual events is an excellent performance from a young team who have got many years ahead of them in this sport,” Atkinson said.
Weinberger, the Olympic bronze medallist in the 10-km, found the 25-km distance difficult, finishing 26th in 5:02:32.6. On the women’s side, Nadine Williams of Sherwood Park, Alta., finished 17th in 5:42:17.9.
Williams was coming off a 10-km race that saw both her and Zsofi Balazs of Toronto improve on their positions from the 2011 worlds. Atkinson said every swimmer on the young team can take away something positive as Canada builds towards the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.
“The oldest athlete is 23 years old, so they’ve got a really good core for the next three years to move on towards Rio,” Atkinson said.
Action shifts to the pool Sunday, with Victoria’s Ryan Cochrane and Katerine Savard of Pont-Rouge, Que., among Canada’s top swimmers. Sportsnet will be televising a highlights show each night of the eight-day meet. For further information visit www.swimming.ca or www.bcn2013.com
The world championships rookie swam the intense race in 4:48:46.8, finishing just over a minute behind the front pack of eight. Thomas Lurz of Germany was the winner in 4:47:27.0, edging Belgium’s Brian Rycheman by 0.4 seconds. Evegenii Drattchev of Russia took the bronze in 4:47:28.1. Guertin ranked as high as fourth after the seventh of 10 laps of the 2.5-km course at Moll de la Fusta.
“I felt good until the ninth lap. I made a couple gutsy moves and I think it paid off. I’m still not used to fighting in a pack for 25 km like that. It wasn’t easy but I’m getting there,” said the 22-year-old. “I gave it all I got. If I made mistakes I’ll learn from them. My coach will tell me but I have no regrets for this race and I’m looking forward to the future.”
Swimming Canada High Performance Director John Atkinson was proud of the young swimmer’s performance in his first worlds.
“Philippe Guertin performed exceptionally well. He was with the leading pack all the way through the race in his first 25-km,” Atkinson said. “To finish with a top-10 position in the 25-km is testament to him and his coach Claude St-Jean for the work that they’ve done to prepare him for the world championships.”
It was Canada’s third top-10 finish in men’s open water events, to go along with Eric Hedlin’s silver medal in the 5-km and Richard Weinberger’s fifth place in the 10-km.
“(My teammates) pushed me a lot, especially to see that they had a lot of attention from it and I wanted to prove that I’m able to do it,” Guertin said. “I didn’t get a medal unfortunately but in my first 25-km, I can’t ask for much better.”
Guertin’s swim earned Canada points in the overall open water championships standings. Canada finished tied with France for seventh, with Brazil on top ahead of Germany and the U.S.
“To have three different guys all in top 10 places in the three men’s individual events is an excellent performance from a young team who have got many years ahead of them in this sport,” Atkinson said.
Weinberger, the Olympic bronze medallist in the 10-km, found the 25-km distance difficult, finishing 26th in 5:02:32.6. On the women’s side, Nadine Williams of Sherwood Park, Alta., finished 17th in 5:42:17.9.
Williams was coming off a 10-km race that saw both her and Zsofi Balazs of Toronto improve on their positions from the 2011 worlds. Atkinson said every swimmer on the young team can take away something positive as Canada builds towards the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.
“The oldest athlete is 23 years old, so they’ve got a really good core for the next three years to move on towards Rio,” Atkinson said.
Action shifts to the pool Sunday, with Victoria’s Ryan Cochrane and Katerine Savard of Pont-Rouge, Que., among Canada’s top swimmers. Sportsnet will be televising a highlights show each night of the eight-day meet. For further information visit www.swimming.ca or www.bcn2013.com
Guertin obtient une autre place parmi les 10 premiers pour la jeune équipe en eau libre
BARCELONE – Le Montréalais Philippe Guertin a nagé près des meneurs du peloton pendant toute la journée en route vers une neuvième place au 25km masculin en eau libre, samedi, aux championnats du monde de la FINA à Barcelone.
La recrue aux championnats du monde a nagé une course intense en 4:48:46,8, à seulement un peu plus d’une minute derrière le peloton de tête de huit nageurs. Thomas Lurz, d’Allemagne, a été le vainqueur en 4:47:27,0, 0,4 de seconde devant le Belge Brian Rycheman. Evegenii Drattchev, de Russie, a obtenu la médaille de bronze en 4:47:28,1. Guertin a été classé aussi haut que quatrième après sept des 10 tours du circuit de 2,5km à Moll de la Fusta.
«Je me sentais bien jusqu’au neuvième tour. J’ai effectué quelques attaques courageuses et je pense que cela a payé. Je ne suis pas encore habitué à me battre dans un peloton pendant 25 km comme cela. Ce n’était pas facile, mais j’apprends, a dit le nageur de 22 ans. J’ai donné tout ce que j’avais. J’ai fait des erreurs et j’apprendrai d’elles. Mon entraîneur me le dira, mais je n’ai aucun regret pour cette course et j’ai hâte à l’avenir.»
Le directeur de la haute performance de Natation Canada, John Atkinson, était fier de la performance du jeune nageur à ses premiers championnats du monde.
«Philippe Guertin a exceptionnellement bien fait. Il était avec le peloton de tête pendant toute la course à son premier 25km, a dit Atkinson. Terminer parmi les 10 premiers dans le 25km est un témoignage pour lui et pour son entraîneur Claude St-Jean pour le travail qu’ils ont fait pour le préparer pour les championnats du monde.»
C’était le troisième résultat du Canada dans les épreuves masculines en eau libre, avec la médaille d’argent d’Eric Hedlin au 5km et la cinquième place de Richard Weinberger au 10km.
«Mes coéquipiers m’ont beaucoup poussé, spécialement pour voir qu’ils avaient beaucoup d’attention et je voulais prouver que je peux le faire, a dit Guertin. Je n’ai malheureusement pas obtenu une médaille, mais c’est mon premier 25km. Je ne peux demander beaucoup mieux.»
La course de Guertin a valu au Canada des points pour le classement du championnat général en eau libre. Le Canada a terminé septième à égalité avec la France. Le Brésil a terminé premier devant l’Allemagne et les É.U.
«Avoir trois gars différents tous parmi les 10 premiers dans les trois épreuves individuelles masculine est une excellente performance par une jeune équipe et ils ont plusieurs années devant eux dans ce sport», a dit Atkinson.
Weinberger, le médaillé olympique de bronze au 10 km, a trouvé difficile la distance de 25km, terminant 26e en 5:02:32,6. Chez les femmes, Nadine Williams, de Sherwood Park, en Alberta, a terminé 17e en 5:42:17,9.
Williams venait de participer à une course de 10km qui a vu elle et Zsofi Balazs, de Toronto, améliorer leur position par rapport aux championnats du monde de 2011. Atkinson a dit que chaque nageur dans la jeune équipe peut repartir avec quelque chose de positif alors que le Canada bâtit pour les Jeux olympiques de 2016 à Rio de Janeiro.
«L’athlète le plus âgé a 23 ans, donc il y a un vrai bon noyau pour les trois prochaines années en prévision de Rio», a dit Atkinson.
L’action se déplacera dans la piscine, dimanche, avec Ryan Cochrane, de Victoria, et Katerine Savard, de Pont-Rouge, au Québec, parmi les meilleurs nageurs du Canada. Sportsnet diffusera une émission avec les faits saillants chaque soir des huit jours de la compétition. Pour obtenir plus d’information visitez
www.swimming.ca ou
www.bcn2013.com
