Rhythmic Gymnasts To Watch At Elite Canada
Rhythmic Gymnasts To Watch At Elite Canada
Katherine Uchida leads the list of gymnasts to watch at Elite Canada Rhythmic Gymnastics 2020.
Canada's top rhythmic gymnasts seek to advance to the 2020 Canadian Championships starting with the 2020 Elite Canada competition. With many of the 2019 junior national team gymnasts moving up to the senior ranks, this meet presents rising seniors the opportunity to make their marks among veterans in this Olympic year while the juniors look to make progress towards the available national team spots.
Natalie Garcia (senior)
Garcia was the 2018 Canadian junior national champion and competed at the 2018 Youth Olympic Games but moved up to the senior level last year and, in her first year as a senior, competed at the 2019 Pan American Games and the 2019 World Championships.
Clubs is her best apparatus and she earned a medal for it at the 2019 Pan American Games, but she's one of Canada's best at ribbon, which consistently scores lower than the other apparatus.
Notable recent results:
- 2019 Pan American Games: 2nd clubs
- 2019 Canadian Championships: 2nd AA, clubs, ribbon; 3rd hoop ball
- 2019 Elite Canada: 3rd AA, ribbon; 2nd clubs; 4th hoop, ball
Christina Savchenko (junior)
Much of the 2019 Canadian junior rhythmic national team has moved up to the senior level this Olympic year, but Savchenko is still a junior after one year on the national team. With that said, to be more competitive across the board, Savchenko needs to add difficulty. She scored in the 14.000 range at the Canadian Championships last year, demonstrating her potential.
Notable recent results:
- 2019 Canadian Championships: 7th rope, ball; 6th clubs; 8th AA
Veranika Trublina (junior)
Trublina is in the same situation as Savchenko as she, too, made the national team for the first time last year. Ball and clubs are her standout apparatus where she's been able to score in the 14.000 range, which is a good place for juniors to be as they continue to grow and develop their gymnastics.
2019 Canadian Championships: 5th rope; 7th club; 10th AA
Katherine Uchida (senior)
Uchida is a seasoned veteran and has been representing Canada since 2014. She's competed at three World Championships, the Pan American Championships, the Pan American Games, the Commonwealth Games, Pacific Rim Championships, and several World Cups.
She's proven to be Canada's best as she swept the senior competition at championships last year. In addition, she has reached the 20.000 range in scoring, which is a major feat for any rhythmic gymnast. And even when she doesn't improve upon her scores from qualifications to finals, as she did a few time at championships last year, Uchida typically still does well enough to end up on top.
Notable recent results:
- 2019 Pan American Games: 2nd hoop, ball; 5th AA; 6th clubs, ribbon
- 2019 Canadian Championships: 1st AA, ball, hoops, ribbon, clubs
- 2018 Pan American Championships: 8th AA
- 2018 Commonwealth Games: 2nd AA; 5th hoop, 5th clubs
Michele Vivier (senior)
2020 is Vivier's first year as a senior, and she could be a rising star for Canada, as she can score in the 16.000-17.000+ range on most apparatus. As a junior, she was a veteran on the national team, first being named in 2017. Ribbon may not be her highest scoring event, but even as a junior last year, she scored a 16.000, which even outscored many of the senior gymnasts. Combined with her solid ball and clubs, that makes Vivier an asset to Team Canada.
Notable recent results (as a junior):
- 2019 Canadian Championships: 1st AA, rope, clubs; 2nd ball, ribbon
- 2019 Elite Canada: 1st AA, rope, ball, clubs, ribbon
- 2018 Pacific Rim Championships: 3rd AA, clubs, ribbon; 2nd hoop; 4th ball
Cynthia Zhang (junior)
A member of the junior national team since 2018, Zhang is set to be one of the most experienced junior rhythmic gymnasts competing at Elite Canada. She's a solid ball and clubs gymnast with the ability to score in the mid-13.000 to low-14.000 range. While she still has time to add difficulty to her routines, she does a good job at consistent execution around the 7.000 range.
Notable recent results:
- 2019 Canadian Championships: 6th AA, ball; 8th ribbon
- 2019 Elite Canada: 10th AA; 7th clubs
- 2018 Canadian Championships: 6th hoop; 7th ball; 10th AA
