Women's Water Polo/Road to Paris 2024: two teams left for the last Olympic spot, including Canada

Ottawa, February 12, 2024 - The Water Polo Canada Women's National Team lost 12-9 against Spain on Monday in the quarterfinals of the 2024 World Aquatics Championships in Doha, Qatar, while Hungary claimed one of the last two spots available for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

Canada and Italy, who also were defeated in their quarterfinal match on Monday, are therefore the only two remaining teams, not currently qualified for Paris, who will battle it out throughout the rest of the tournament for the sole Olympic spot still available.

Monday, Axelle Crevier (3), Shae La Roche (2), Verica Bakoc (1), Elyse Lemay-Lavoie (1), Serena Browne (1) and Marilia Mimides (1) all scored against the silver medalists from the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games and the 2023 World Aquatics Championships held in Fukuoka, Japan.

“We are obviously disappointed with that loss. We definitively wanted to be in the top four,” said Team Captain Emma Wright. “However, I'm also really proud of how the team fought towards the end. I think it showed that we have a lot of fight and a lot of character on our team, so I'm proud of how we ended the game.”

“It was a hard-fought game by our team, all hearts and relentless, a very physical game against a team that has one the best centers in the world,” added Water Polo Canada’s Women’s Head Coach David Paradelo. “We showed a lot of character to stay in the game and try to come back after we started a bit slow in setting up our offence, and it ended up paying off deeper into the game, but too little.”

In the next round, which will determine the matchups for positions 5 and 6, as well as for places 7 and 8, Canada will meet Australia on Wednesday at 4 a.m. (ET).

These two teams know each other well, having spent part of their training camp together before arriving in Doha.

“We know the team well,” said Emma Wright. “They are a strong team, they always come out to fight, so we need to be ready for that. I think that now, it's just important to rest and get ready for this game and make sure we refocus, because it's not over yet.”

Wednesday, Italy will face the Netherlands, who lost to Hungary in a shootout in the quarterfinal round.

As one of the three countries in the quarterfinals that had not already qualified for Paris, Hungary thus earned one of the last two tickets available in Doha by ensuring they will finish in the top four with the United States, Spain and Greece, three nations that had all already qualified for the Olympics.

The teams that win Wednesday’s matchups between Australia and Canada, as well as the Netherlands and Italy, will battle for positions 5 and 6, while those that lose will compete for positions 7 and 8.

Games are streamed on the CBC Sports ((https://www.cbc.ca/sports/streaming-schedule?sport=Aquatics-Water-Polo), Radio-Canada Sports (https://ici.radio-canada.ca/sports/diffusions and https://ici.tou.tv/en-direct) and World Aquatics (https://www.worldaquatics.com/watch-live) web platforms.

Canadian Women’s National Team for the 2024 World Aquatics Championships
BAKOC, Verica (Toronto, ON) - Mavericks
BROWNE, Serena (Pointe-Claire, QC) - DDO
CARROLL, Floranne (Montréal, QC) - CAMO
CREVIER, Axelle (Montréal, QC) - CAMO
GAUDREAULT, Jessica (Ottawa, ON) - Capital Wave
GUÈVREMONT, Daphné (Montréal, QC) - CAMO
LA ROCHE, Shae (Winnipeg, MB) - Winnipeg Bushido/EAU Laval
LEKNESS, Rae (Calgary, AB) - Calgary Renegades
LEMAY-LAVOIE, Elyse (Montréal, QC) - CAMO
MCDOWELL, Blaire (Fernie, B.C.) - Water Polo Saskatchewan
McKELVEY, Hayley (North Delta, B.C.) - Pacific Storm
MIMIDES, Maria Eleni (Marilia) (Glyfada, GRE, & Toronto, ON) - DDO
PAUL, Kindred (Spruce Grove, AB) - Edmonton Tsunami - Edmonton Tsunami
VULPISI, Clara (Montréal, QC) - CAMO
WRIGHT, Emma (Whitby, ON) - Scarborough Shadow Water polo

Alternate: DAVIS, Lucy (Port Moody, B.C.) - Pacific Storm

Water Polo Canada Women’s National Team Support Staff for the 2024 World Aquatics Championships
Head Coach: David Paradelo
Assistant Coaches: Cora Campbell & Stefano Posterivo
Massage Therapist: Manon Prieur
Physiotherapist: Brian Li
Mental Performance Coach (preparatory training camp): Sommer Christie
Video Coach: Francisco Zelaya
Team Manager: Mitch Kaufman
High Performance Director: Olivier Pineau

Hélène Painchaud from Montréal, QC, is attending the 2024 World Aquatics Championships as a referee.

More information is available on Water Polo Canada’s website at https://waterpolo.ca/content/doha-2024.