Jessica Sevick's family was told she might not make it.
The 12-year-old from Strathmore, Alta., had just suffered a severe brain injury during a luge training run at Calgary's Olympic Park.
"I learned so much from that experience," Sevick said of her accident as she fought back tears at the sweltering Sea Forest Waterway. "I don't think I could have got here if that hadn't happened.The Canadian duo finished in a time of six minutes 57.69 seconds over 2,000 metres to comfortably qualify for Monday's semifinals.
"She's a tough cookie," said Smith, a 26-year-old from Unionville, Ont., also enjoying her Games debut. "I can always count on her to fight. That's a pretty valuable trait." "Good to get the first one," said Jones, another Olympic rookie at age 23. "Get the nerves out of the way, and just get into it.""Each Games in their own rights are pretty special," she said after battling temperatures that felt like 36 C with the humidity. "It's been a long journey getting here. I've had a pretty tough year with a couple injuries, a few setbacks.Incredibly, that's something Sevick and Smith had never done together prior to Friday.
Smith actually qualified the boat for the Olympics at the 2019 world championships with Andrea Proske before the program's hierarchy shook things up with its women's crews.
Canada Latest News, Canada Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Most of Canada's 370 Olympic athletes don't have loved ones with them in Tokyo. The few who do — are coached by their parentsThe coach\u002Dparents who do double duty have the rare opportunity to see their kids become Olympians in person during these pandemic Games
Read more »
Most of Canada's 370 Olympic athletes don't have loved ones with them in Tokyo. The few who do — are coached by their parentsThe coach\u002Dparents who do double duty have the rare opportunity to see their kids become Olympians in person during these pandemic Games
Read more »
Jets assistant coach Greg Knapp dies of injuries from bicycle accidentJets assistant coach Greg Knapp died Thursday of injuries suffered in a bicycle accident near his home in California last Saturday. He was 58.
Read more »
Rowers looking to pull Canada back on the Olympic podium in TokyoCanada’s rowing program is confident and re-energized heading into the pandemic-delayed Tokyo Olympics with 10 boats in the running
Read more »
Canada's rowers looking to get back on track and on the Olympic podium in TokyoCanada's rowers -- a powerful, proud group of athletes intent on pulling a decorated program forward -- had been all but shut out of the medals on the murky waters of Rio de Janeiro's urban Rodrigo de Freitas Lagoon at the 2016 Summer Olympics.
Read more »