Skip to content

PHOTOS: Quebec and Saskatchewan take home gold in men and women’s synchronized trampoline

First time synchro trampoline events held at a Canada Games
15769859_web1_AlbertaWomen
Team Alberta gymnasts Kalena Soehn and Alex Boucher placed sixth in the women’s synchro trampoline gymnastics competition Thursday night. Robin Grant/Red Deer Express

Red Deer trampolinists Kalena Soehn and Zachary Blakely said they were happy with their synchronized trampoline results despite not placing in the top three standings Thursday night.

It was the first time synchronized trampoline — which involves performing skills with the goal of hitting all elements in the centre of the trampoline while staying in perfect synch with a partner — has been held at the Canada Winter Games.

“I’m perfectly content with everything I’ve done at the Games,” said Blakely, 19, who took home silver in both the men’s individual and team trampoline competitions at the Games already. “It couldn’t have been better. This experience has been absolutely perfect for me.”

He and his partner, 15-year-old Nolen Zurek from Edmonton, placed fourth in Thursday night’s finals competition.

Soehn, 19, said she and her partner, 16-year-old Alex Boucher of Calgary, don’t feel disappointed with how things went.

After placing first in the preliminaries, the duo came in sixth in the finals.

“This is a competition. It is about who does best in that moment. Of course, I hoped we would have done better but I am not upset. We tried our hardest and we did what we could.”

The Red Deer native won gold in the women’s individual competition on Feb. 25th and silver in the team event on Feb. 26th.

Tyler Champagne and Isaiah Klassen of Team Manitoba placed second in the men’s event with a score of 83.200, right behind gold medal winners Remi Aubin and Benjamin Lagace of Quebec. Ontario took home bronze.

Both athletes agreed that synchro trampoline is very challenging.

“You really have to listen to the person when they are landing on the trampoline. You have to know if you are landing at the same time,” said Champagne.

The Games was the first time the duo practiced synchro together because they train in different provinces.

“To come out here and get a silver,” he said. “That’s incredible.”

Klassen said he felt shocked and happy with the silver medal.

“The beginning was really tricky at first. We got it really fast. After that, some of the signals in the routine were a little tricky to get together.”

In the women’s event, Team Saskatchewan took home gold, Nova Scotia silver and Quebec bronze.

With 88 medals, Team Alberta currently sits in third place in the medal rankings, behind Ontario (second) and Quebec (first).

15769859_web1_QuebecGold
Team Quebec took home gold at the synchro gymnastic finals Thursday night at the Collicutt Centre. Robin Grant/Red Deer Express
15769859_web1_SaskGold
Saskatchewan’s Ashley Anaka and Hannah Metheral took home the gold medal in the women’s synchro trampoline competition Thursday. Robin Grant/Red Deer Express