Delta athletes have helped Team Canada take a big step towards securing a quarter-final berth in women’s water polo at the Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo.
Gurpreet Sohi scored four goals and Hayley McKelvey added another as Canada cruised to a convincing 21-1 victory over South Africa on Wednesday to improve to 1-2 in preliminary play after earlier losses to Australia and Spain. It’s Canada’s first appearance at the Summer Games since Athens in 2004, having secured a berth with a silver medal finish at the 2019 Pan American Games. The Canadians close out preliminary play on Sunday against the Netherlands. The playoffs start on Tuesday.
Sohi, 26, has been a fixture with the national team after an All-American career at Stanford, helping the Cardinals win national titles in 2014 and 2015.
McKelvey also took her talents south of the border to USC where she was a member of the Trojans’ 2016 and 2018 championship teams.
Staying in the pool, Tsawwassen swimmer Markus Thormeyer has earned a berth in the 200-metre backstroke semi-finals thanks to a sixth place finish in his qualifying heat with a clocking of 1:57.85. His race is slated for just after 7 p.m. (PDT) tonight.
In rowing, Ladner's Maxwell Lattimer and Victoria’s Patrick Keane closed out their Olympic Games with a fourth place finish in today's lightweight pairs “B” final. The Canadian team was fifth in its semi-final heat a day earlier that saw the top three crews advance.
Field hockey players Mark Pearson and Brendan Guraliuk will be back on the pitch tonight (6 p.m. PDT) as Canada looks for its first win against Belgium.
The Canadians fell to 0-3 in pool play with a 4-2 loss to the Netherlands on Tuesday. Pearson was among the goal scorers.
