GCG News 2012 Canadian Championships Day 2

May 22

Vaculik tops women’s field in qualifications at Canadian gymnastics championships

REGINA -- Olympic hopeful Kristina Vaculik of Whitby, Ont., led all competitors in the women’s qualification round at the 2012 Canadian gymnastics championships on Tuesday with a score of 56.350 points.

Former Canadian junior champion Victoria Moors of Cambridge, Ont., placed second with 55.650 points and Ellie Black of Halifax was third at 54.900 in a field of 21 gymnasts.

Vaculik topped the field on beam and uneven bars and was fourth on floor and 11th on vault.

“There’s a lot of pressure right now and it’s really good to see how everyone is doing,” said Vaculik, who is vying to earn one of five spots on the Canadian women’s team heading to London this summer.

Results from the Canadian championships and a final selection meet at the end of June in Gatineau, Que., will count heavily towards the outcome.

“After we qualified a full team for the Games it’s been an amazing feeling,” said Vaculik. “We’ve done our job as a country to send a full team and it’s just great to be here knowing that we’re going to send five girls to the Olympics.”

Vaculik, a two-time Canadian all around champion taking a year off from Stanford University to pursue her Olympic dream, played a key role in helping Canada earn one of just 12 full-team berths at the final qualification for the Games last January.

Notably absent on the opening day of the championships was Toronto’s Peng Peng Lee, who was on her way home with a dislocated knee after a crash landing on vault during a practice session on Monday.

Lee, Canada’s top performer at the 2011 world championships in Tokyo, will undergo an MRI in Toronto on Wednesday morning to determine the extent of the injury to her left knee.

“It’s too early to speculate about whether Peng Peng can recover from this injury in time for the Olympics,” said Gymnastics Canada President and CEO, Jean Paul Caron of Ottawa.

“We are going to wait for the MRI results and hope for the best.”

The women’s senior all around finals take place on Thursday.

Competition continues Wednesday in women’s novice, men’s junior and argo classes and trampoline and tumbling.