TOKYO -- Rower Gabrielle Smith, a McGill University graduate from Unionville, Ont., teamed up with Jessica Sevick of Strathmore, Alta., in the women's double sculls and advanced to the semifinals at the Tokyo Olympics, early Friday morning.

She paired up with Sevick to finish second of four boats in their initial qualifying race at the Sea Forest Waterway on the opening day of the rowing competition. It marked the first time Canada had a boat in women's double sculls at the Olympics since the 1996 Atlanta Games.

The 26-year-old Smith, who only started rowing at the age of 18, earned a science degree from McGill in 2017, majoring in cellular biology. She followed that with a master's degree from the University of Oxford.

"I think it was a pretty solid 1,900-metre piece and next time we're going to work on our start a little bit more and try to get out a bit faster," said Smith in a post-race interview on CBC television. She sat in the bow seat and maintained her cool after a rocky start in the 2,000m heat. Sevick missed two of her first five strokes in the opening few seconds of the race. Buried in fourth place, the Canadian duo rallied to move into third by the three-minute mark and edged ahead into second at the halfway marker.

The top three boats in each heat advanced to the semifinals. A powerhouse Romanian duo was clocked in 5:07.54 to easily finish first, ahead of Canada (5:13.71) and Italy (5:14.05). Fourth-place Russia was relegated to the repechage round, slated for Saturday at 8:30 p.m. EDT. The semifinals are scheduled for July 25 at 9:20 p.m. EDT and the finals are set for July 27 at 7:30 p.m. EDT.

Smith is one of six McGill students or graduates competing at the Games.

Gabriella Doueihy (BSc '21), a recently graduated biology senior from Ehden, Lebanon and a member of the Martlets swim team, is the only McGill varsity athlete in Tokyo. She will represent her homeland as a member of the Lebanese Olympic squad. Other athletes with the Canadian squad are water polo's Joelle Bekhazi (MSc '15) of Pte. Claire, Que. and three fencers, namely Alex Cai, a current biology and anatomy junior from Toronto, Shaul Gordon (BCL/LLB '19, LLM '21), a law school graduate from Richmond, B.C., and Maximilien Van Haaster (BSc '16), a kinesiology grad from Montreal.

The Opening Ceremonies will take place on Saturday (July 23) at 7 am EDT, but official competition began on July 20. The Games continue until August 8, 2021.

SOURCE:
Earl Zukerman
Communications Officer
Athletics & Recreation
McGill University
514-398-7012 (Tel.)
m.athletics.mcgill.ca (mobile website)
www.mcgillathletics.ca
earl.zukerman@mcgill.ca