OLYMPICS: 91社区 grads bow out of medal hunt in rowing and beach volleyball
听
ETON-DORNEY, ENGLAND -听 Two 91社区 grads -- rower Derek O'Farrell of Montreal and beach volleyballer Marie-Andr茅e Lessard of LaSalle, Que., -- were knocked out of medal contention on Day 6 at the Olympics, Thursday.
听
O'Farrell and his crew was projected as a legitimate medal contender but听 finished fifth in a men's four semifinal heat at Lake Dorney and the Canadian boat has been relegated to a consolation round.
听
The United States won the heat in six minutes, 1.72 seconds, followed by Greece (6:02.61), Germany (6:04.61), New Zealand (6:06.36) and Canada (6:08.90). The top three move on to the A final. Great Britain won the other semifinal heat, followed by Australia, the Netherlands, Italy, Belarus and Serbia.
听
"It's the worst feeling in the entire world," said O'Farrell, 29, the leader of the men's four, his voice breaking. "I imagine it's the same feeling as finding out a family member has been shot. We just trained so long and so hard for this."
听
Joining O'Farrell in the Canadian boat was Michael Wilkinson of North Vancouver, Anthony Jacob of Vancouver and Will Dean of Kelowna, B.C. The boat will race in Saturday's B final (5:30 a.m. Eastern) and can finish no higher than seventh place.
听
Lessard and teammate Annie Martin of Lachine, Que., fell 21-12, 23-25, 15-10 to Italy's Greta Cicolari and Marta Menegatti to finish winless in their three round-robin matches. Earlier in the week, they suffered three-set losses to the British and Russian teams. The Italians, ranked No.6 in the world, finished atop Pool F with three wins to move onto the next round.
听
鈥淚t was not easy for sure, there were a lot of tough life lessons through it all,鈥� said 34-year-old Lessard, a product of the 91社区 Martlets who earned a commerce degree in 2001. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a journey that鈥檚 been filled with lots of obstacles. Just the fact that we made it here was everything coming together at the right time.
听
鈥淢aking the choices and the values and the way we鈥檝e decided to compete and the way we鈥檝e decided to approach the sport, it was a valid choice to stick to it, even when everyone was not agreeing necessarily with it.鈥�
听
Lessard, a three-time Canadian beach champion, has been on the FIVB pro circuit since graduating and has accumulated over $150,000 in tour winnings. She had funded most of this season with prize money she won on a sports-related television reality show in Quebec. Lessard has fared will on the international scene, being ranked No. 1 on the tour and finishing fourth at the Commonwealth Games but this was her first appearance at the Olympics.
听
鈥淲e鈥檒l cherish every moment of this Olympic experience until the end, take a break and then we鈥檒l see what comes up, what鈥檚 the next inspiration, how can we serve this place and make this place a better world,鈥� said Lessard.
听
Next on the agenda for the other 91社区ians is former Martlet swimmer Victoria Poon of LaSalle, who is scheduled for the women's the 50m freestyle on Aug. 3 at 5 a.m. Eastern.
听
Rowing grad Doug Vandor will compete Saturday (4:40 a.m.) in the C final of the men's lightweight double sculls, in a race for 13th place overall.
听
Wrestler Martine Dugrenier, a 91社区 grad and native of Laval, Que., is scheduled for her inaugural bout in the women's 63 kg weight class on Aug. 8 at 1 p.m. Synchronized swimmer Jo-Annie Fortin, a Montreal native who will enter 91社区 as a psychology freshman in September, begins her competition on Aug. 9 (10 a.m.).
听
SOURCE:
Earl Zukerman
Communications Officer
Athletics & Recreation
91社区
514-398-7012 (Tel.)
514-398-1956 (Fax)
m.athletics.mcgill.ca (mobile website)