Team Canada’s men’s artistic gymnastics team of René Cournoyer, Zachary Clay, Félix Dolci, William Émard and Samuel Zakutney kicked off their Olympic campaign on Day 1, competing in the qualification round at Bercy Arena in Paris.
They achieved the goal that they had set out for themselves, qualifying for the team event final with their eighth-place performance, scoring 247.794.
Dolci and Cournoyer both qualified for the all-around final with scores of 81.498 and 80.798, respectively, but no one will advance to any of the individual apparatus finals.
Paris 2024 is a special Games for Team Canada gymnastics generally, as it marks the first time in 20 years that Team Canada is represented by full teams in both men’s and women’s artistic gymnastics at the Olympic Games. The women will kick off their Olympic Games with qualification on Day 2.
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There are six apparatus in men’s artistic gymnastics: floor exercise, pommel horse, rings, vault, parallel bars, and horizontal bar. In qualification, each team put up four athletes on each apparatus, with the top three scores counting towards the team result. The top eight teams advanced to the team final. Qualification also determined the 24 gymnasts who advanced to the individual all-around final and the eight finalists for each apparatus final.
Horizontal bar was the first apparatus up for Team Canada, and it was a tough first showing for the Canadians, with falls by both Émard and Cournoyer. Dolci led the team with a 14.133 performance on the apparatus. Other counted scorers included Zakutney (14.033) and Cournoyer (12.400).
Next was floor exercise, where Dolci led Team Canada once again with another 14.133. Émard (14.000) and Cournoyer (13.333) also scored for the team.
After a bumpier start to the day than they might have hoped for, Team Canada took a huddle to gather themselves as a group.
“We needed to pick up the energy because we knew that our routines at the horizontal bar were the most important, but also that the routines at the pommel horse would be make or break for us,” Zakutney said afterwards. “We knew we had more risks of falls or deductions at that event. We needed to regroup and concentrate for the pommel horse.”
The reset in the huddle seemed to have the desired effect, as pommel horse specialist Clay led the Canadians on that apparatus with a score of 13.733. He was joined in scoring by Cournoyer (13.033) and Zakutney (12.233). Dolci came off the pommel horse during his routine.
Émard was the top scorer on rings for Team Canada with a score of 14.400. Émard beat his chest and bicep in celebration–perhaps a nod to the fact that he had suffered a tear to his left bicep in 2021, and then the same injury in 2024 to his right side. Cournoyer scored 13.933 and Dolci scored 13.366.
On vault, Dolci led the team with a 14.333, followed by Émard (14.266) and Cournoyer (13.766).
Up last were the parallel bars, where a jubilant Dolci finished with a big celebration and a bleeding arm from a scrape on the bars. He scored 14.400. Cournoyer scored 14.333 and Zakutney scored 13.966.
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It was a big day, emotionally and physically for the whole team which, other than Cournoyer, is composed of first time Olympians.
“I was a little more excited and stressed than I thought I would be,” Dolci said after the competition, reflecting on his first Olympic experience. “I believe we did what we set out to do on every apparatus.”
“I think we’ve definitely made a huge step up in the past couple of years,” said Cournoyer. “But that’s not only based on the athletes available right now. It’s also based on the programs, the way they’re built, the way the athletes are trained from a young age and are showing up that can lead to a very high level. I think that [we can] inspire a lot of kids to do the same thing in the future.”
