Canadians Filion and Benfeito fourth at diving World Series

Roseline Filion & Meaghan Benfeito

CHANGZHOU, China – A mistake on their fourth dive potentially cost Meaghan Benfeito of Montreal and Roseline Filion of Laval, Que., a medal on Saturday as they placed fourth on women’s 10-metre synchro at the second stop on the FINA World Series diving circuit.

Olympic champion Chen Ruolin of China and her new partner Kang Li won the gold medal for the second straight week with 372.00 points. Melissa Wu and Briony Cole of Australia took the silver at 347.34 and Josephine Moeller and Nora Subschinski of Germany were third at 323.58.

Benfeito and Filion, silver medallists last weekend, posted a 312.96 score just over eight points off last week’s score. It was their fourth dive in the final, a backward three and half, that gave them trouble.

“We completely missed that dive,” said Filion. “It’s unfortunate because our synchronization was on most of the day. Still we had two good weeks of competition overall and we’re looking forward to working on our dives for the next World Series event.”

Chen also won the women’s individual tower event with 444.05 points. Kang was second at 421.70 and Paola Espinosa of Mexico third at 404.20. Filion was fourth at 363.50.

Sharleen Stratton of Australia denied China a golden sweep as she outperformed Chinese rising star He Zi to win the women's three-metre springboard title. China won seven out of eight events.

Benfeito and Filion were the Canadian entries here this week.

The third stop on the circuit is April 18-19 in Sheffield, England.

Athlete profiles and results are available on-line at www.diving.ca.

About the FINA World Series

In 2009, there are four stops on the FINA Diving World Series which was originally launched in 2007.

Last year, Canadian divers won seven medals on the three stops of the 2008 FINA Diving World Series. The Canadian tandem of Émilie Heymans and Marie-Eve Marleau were crowned 10-meter synchro champions after winning one gold and two silver medals.

The Canadian team of Meaghan Benfeito and Roseline Filion qualified for the 2009 FINA World Series based on their performances at the 2008 Olympic Games. Only the top-eight divers in each event are invited to compete in the World Series. At the 2008 Olympic Games, Benfeito and Filion were 7th in the 10-metre synchro event.

Medallists at the FINA Diving World Series receive important cash prizes.

About Diving Plongeon Canada
Diving Plongeon Canada (DPC) was established in 1967 as a not-for-profit organization to promote the growth and awareness of the sport in this country. As a member of FINA, the world’s governing body of aquatic sports, DPC contributes to the development of globally accepted standards of excellence in diving and supports the rules and regulations of international competition. Representing nine provincial diving associations, 67 local diving clubs and close to 4,000 high performance athletes, DPC shares a national commitment to advance the art and sport of diving and to position Canada as the number one diving nation of the world.  For information, visit www.diving.ca.

- 30 -