Canada is out of medal contention in women’s Olympic water polo and will play a final match Thursday in Paris to determine its placing in the tournament.
Spain, which topped its group with a 4-0 record in the preliminary round, scored six goals in the first quarter on Tuesday and cruised to a 18-8 victory at La Defense Arena in Nanterre, France.
The Spaniards will play Italy or the Netherlands in semifinal action on Thursday.
They will be looking to book a pot in their second consecutive Olympic final after losing 14-5 to the United States and capturing a silver medal three years ago in Tokyo.
WATCH | Canadia eliminated from medal contention after loss to Spain:
Canada falls to Spain 18-8 in the women’s water polo quarterfinals at Paris 2024. The Canadian squad will participate in the 5th-8th classification matches.
The Canadian women, who were 1-3 in the preliminary round in France, have never played a semifinal match at the Olympics.
They were seventh in the 2021 tournament and had a best finish of fifth in 2000 when the sport made its Olympic debut in Sydney.
Verica Bakoc paced Canada’s offence on Tuesday with five goals. Rae Lekness, Elyse Lemay-Lavoie and team captain Emma Wright also scored.
Wright was one of seven returning players for a Canadian outfit that lost Joëlle Békhazi, Kyra Christmas, Monika Eggens, Kelly McKee and Claire Wright to retirement, while Gurpreet Sohi is currently in medical school.
Elena Ruiz had four goals to top Spain, which has never won Olympic gold.
