Benfeito and Filion win silver medal at FINA World Series diving competition

Roseline Filion & Meaghan Benfeito

DOHA, Qatar – Meaghan Benfeito of Montreal and Roseline Filion of Laval, Que., won the silver medal on Sunday in the women’s 10-metre synchro event to conclude the opening stop on the FINA World Series diving circuit.

Olympic and world champion Chen Ruolin and her new partner Kang Li of China won the gold medal with 347.76 points.

Benfeito and Filion moved into second place in the third of five rounds in the final and held on to the silver medal position with 321.18 points. The result continued a strong start to the 2009 season for the Canadians. They won gold at the German Grand Prix two weeks ago as well as at the Winter Nationals in Calgary last month.

Olympic and world championship silver medallists Briony Cole and Melissa Wu of Australia were third at 317.58.

“We are super happy with our performance,” said Filion, seventh at the Olympics with Benfeito last year. “Our synchronization was on but our entries could have been better. To finish ahead of the Australians is a big boost for our confidence. It’s the kind of result we needed after our placing at the Olympics.”

The top three pairs executed the same dives in the final except in the fourth round. The Canadians perform a more difficult dive, a back three and a half. On Sunday they scored well on the dive but not enough to dethrone the powerful Chinese.

“We are the only team that does that dive,” said Filion. “It’s one that can bring us a lot of points and we hope we can do it better at the next event.”

Filion and Benfeito were the sole Canadian entries at the two-day event this weekend. The next stop on the circuit is this Friday and Saturday in Changzhou, China.

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 -