Huot also swam to gold in the 100m breaststroke in 1:15.37 in the SM10 category. It was a personal best time.
“It was an incredible night. I earned
two gold medals,” said Huot. More importantly, he said his time in the
individual medley puts him on target for the Beijing 2008 Paralympic
Summer Games.
“I wanted to do 2:14 this year,
because next year in Beijing I think I will need a time of 2:13 to win
at Paralympic Games,” he said. “It was an almost ideal swim today.”
His arch rival, Brazilian Andre
Esteves, who had trouble due to water in his goggles would have placed
second, but was disqualified.
Huot added that being able to train with Olympic swimmers in Montreal is really benefiting his times.
In total the Canadian swim team earned eight gold, four silver and two bronze medals.
Another highlight of the evening was
Brittany Gray, of Barrie, ON, finishing first in the women’s SM8 100m
breaststroke in 1:29.87.
“I have been trying for a long time
to break one minute 30 seconds, and I’m really glad I accomplished it.
I was able to keep it together at the end,” she said.
The other Canadian swimmers who were
golden were Stephanie Dixon, of Victoria, BC, in the women’s SM9 200m
individual medley in 2:42.37; Anne Polinario, of Montreal, QC, in the
SM10 200m individual medley in 2:49.94; Jessica Tuomela, of Kitchener,
ON, in the SM11 100m breaststroke in 1:45.29; Brian Hill, of Montreal,
QC, in the SM13 100m butterfly in 1:02.15; and Valerie Grand’Maison, of
Montreal, QC, in the SM13 100m butterfly in 1:08.52.
Disappointingly, there were two
disqualifications from the finals for the Canadians. Gray was
disqualified from the women’s SM9 200m individual medley and Chelsey
Gotell, of Antigonish, NS, from women’s SM13 100m butterfly.
Here’s how Canada did in the other sports:
ATHLETICS
Barry
Phelan, of Wingham, ON, earned the bronze in the men’s T37/38 100m
final in 12.56. “It was one of my best times of the season,” said
Phelan. “I just tried my best and gave it my all.”
The two other athletics competitors
from Canada fell short of a medal. Megan Muscat, of Windsor, ON,
finished fourth in the women’s T36/37/38 100m final in 16.04 and Stuart
McGregor, of Ottawa, ON, finished fifth in the men’s T13 400m final in
54.34.
SEVEN-A-SIDE FOOTBALL
Canada fell 7-0 to a powerful
Brazilian squad in seven-a-side football, but still has a chance at the
bronze medal. Canada was rarely able to pressure the more experienced
host team. The Canuck netminders were bombarded and had to make
numerous excellent saves.
“Going into the game we knew that
Brazil would be difficult to play. Our plan was to play tight and
minimize their scoring opportunities, especially in the first five
minutes,” said Canadian head coach Drew Ferguson. “Unfortunately, I
think our lack of experience and nerves allowed them to score early,
which really seemed to open up the game.”
Brazil scored its first goal just two
minutes in, when a cross into the box came to Fabiano Bruzzi. Bruzzi
flicked the ball over the Canadian defender, drew attention to himself,
and then passed the ball to Jose Carlos Guimares, who was near the far
post. Guimares tapped the ball into the net.
Guimares would score goal another 30
minutes into the game, while his team-mate Luciano Rocha netted three,
and Bruzzi and Flavio Pereira had one each.
“We got our butts kicked,” commented
Todd Phillips, of Powell River, BC. “Brazil is so quick on the one-two.
Every break down came from them playing a good one-two ball.”
Phillips added the Brazilians “really know how to create space” and are all good players who really know how to play the game.
Canada was unable to capitalize on
its best chance of the game at the 45-minute mark when off a short
corner kick, Sefik Smajlovic, of Vancouver, BC, dropped the ball for
Matthew Brown. Brown, of Kingston, ON, streaked in and one timed it
just over the bar.
Canada takes on the USA on Saturday for the bronze medal.
SITTING VOLLEYBALL
Canada lost in three straight sets
25-14, 25-23, 25-19 to Brazil. Canada came out slow, but improved in
the second and third sets.
Greg Stewart, of Kamloops, BC, and
Chad Drummond, of Edmonton, AB, led the way for Canada with six points
each. Stewart had four kills, a block and service ace and Drummond had
five kills and one block. Renato Leitte led Brazil with 14 points.
Despite the loss, Stewart was not
disheartened because the Canadian sitting volleyball program is just
five months old. “We’re really coming together. It’s just taking a
while to get used to the game,” said the 7’2” player, who is also a
member of Canada’s standing volleyball team.
Player/coach Jose Rebelo, of
Saint-Hubert, QC, added, “Our problem is a lack of experience. On
second and third contact, we put balls out of play. We didn’t keep it
simple, and tried to get fancy with things, which cost us a lot of
points.”
But when the Canadians played more
cautiously in the second set, they were able to come back twice from a
five goal deficit. However, they didn’t have enough to take Brazil in
the second set.
Canada takes on Costa Rica in its
final round robin match Friday. It should be an easier game, as Costa
Rica is also a developing squad that doesn’t include players of the
caliber of Brazil or the United States.
TABLE TENNIS
The team of Ian Kent, of Eastern
Passage, NS, and Masoud Mojtahed, a Canadian resident of Austin, TX,
have the best chance of a medal in the round-robin men’s team class
event. They are undefeated after the opening day on Thursday of
competition in the event. Playing in class 8, the Canadian duo beat
Mexico 3-0 and Brazil 3-1.
The more crucial match was the one
against Brazil, which was being cheered on by a loud hometown crowd.
Mojtahed lost his game to Brazil’s Joao Nascimento 6-11, 2-11, 3-11,
but then Kent easily outplayed Brazil’s Francisco Melo 11-8, 11-9, 11-3
to even the score at 1-1. Playing together, Kent and Mojtahed were down
two sets to one to the Brazilians, when they rallied a comeback to win
in five. The scores were 12-10, 7-11, 7-11, 11-8, 11-4. Then, Kent beat
Nascimento 11-7, 9-11, 11-9, 11-6 to give Canada the win.
In class 3, Canada lost 3-1 to
Argentina. Canada was represented by Barry Butler, of Ottawa, ON, and
Gerard Brule, of Montreal, QC. The pair continues round-robin play
Friday.
In class 9-10, Canada lost 3-1 to
Mexico and 3-0 to Brazil. Real Poudrier, of Montreal, QC, and Martin
Pelletier, of Gatineau, QC, who are representing Canada in this class,
will be at the table again tomorrow.
WHEELCHAIR BASKETBALL – MEN’S
Canada easily beat Puerto Rico 75-28 in a match that saw some of the rookies get significant playing time.
“It was an easy match. Puerto Rico is
a team in development,” said David Eng. “We let the rookies play and
get a feel for what it’s like out there on the court. They kept the
intensity up.”
Yvon Rouillard, of Montreal, QC, with 16 points, and Ross Norton, of Edmonton, AB, with 15 points, were Canada’s high scorers.
WHEELCHAIR BASKETBALL – WOMEN’S
Canada beat Argentina 51-12. Sabrina
Pettinicchi, of Charters Settlement, NB was Canada’s high scorer with 9
points, followed by Cindy Ouellet, of Riviere-du-Loup, QC, with seven
points.
On Wednesday, the Canadian women
secured a place at the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games by defeating
Mexico 54-31. The team plays El Salvador on Friday and faces off
against the United States on Saturday for the gold.
