Team Canada has won their first game of the 2024 Women’s Water Polo Championships in Doha, Qatar on Sunday as they trounced South Africa 24-2. The Water Polo World Championships are part of the 2024 World Aquatics Championships.
Three players scored five goals for Team Canada. They were Axelle Crevier and Elyse Lemay-Lavoie of Montreal, Quebec, and Emma Wright of Lindsay, Ontario. One more Canadian had a hat trick as Marilia Mimides of Montreal scored thrice. Serena Browne of Montreal scored twice, while four players on Team Canada scored once. They were Rae Lekness and Shae La Roche of Calgary, Alberta, Verica Bakoc of Toronto, Ontario, and Hayley McKelvey of Delta, British Columbia.
In addition to this being a world championship, this international women’s water polo competition is also an Olympic qualifier. Of the 16 nations participating, eight nations have qualified for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, and eight have not. Canada is in the group of eight nations that have not yet qualified. Others include Kazakhstan, Brazil, Hungary, New Zealand, Singapore, Italy, and Great Britain. The top two nations at the World Championships among the nations that have not qualified for the Olympic Games book their ticket to Paris. The eight nations that have already qualified for the Olympic Games that are already at the World Championships are France, the Netherlands, Spain, Australia, China, the United States, Greece and South Africa.
