Regina diver Reuben Ross opens Winter Nationals with victory on one-metre

February 12th, 2009

Reuben Ross receiving his medal from Calgary Mayor Dave Bronconnier

CALGARY – Reuben Ross of Regina showed why he is one of Canada’s brightest young stars in diving on Thursday with victory on men’s one-metre springboard at the 2009 Winter Senior National Championships being held this week at the Talisman Centre in Calgary.

Ross took the gold tabulating 405.30 points with Eric Sehn of Edmonton in second at 386.70 and François Imbeau-Dulac of Montreal third at 349.00. Ross and Sehn were in a heated battle until the fourth of six rounds when Sehn struggled on his backward dive.

‘’The one-metre is an event I hope to compete in at the world championships (this summer in Rome),’’ said Ross, 23, who competed on three and 10-metre at the Olympic Games last year. ‘’It was an event I kind of put aside last year because it wasn’t in the Games. So it’s great to get off to such a good start in it this season. It was a close competition between Eric and I and I was glad with how I competed.’’

The other final on Thursday was in women’s three-metre synchro. Eloise Bélanger and Myriam Selmani of Montreal took the gold in their first meet together with 261.27 points. Stephanie Hansen and Kim Lotnick of Langley, B.C., were second at 238.32 and Celina Toth and Torri Olanski of London, Ont., were third at 205.02.

‘’We decided last Friday to compete together and it went much better than expected,’’ said Bélanger, 15, a year older than her partner. ‘’The biggest challenge for us were the backward starts. We both have different styles on take-off and it was hard to find a middle ground for both of us.’’

Competition continues Friday with the women’s one-metre, men’s three-metre synchro and women’s 10-metre synchro.

Thursday’s medallists at the 2009 Winter Senior National Championships diving competition in Calgary:

MEN

One-metre: 1. Reuben Ross, Regina, 405.30; 2. Eric Sehn, Edmonton, 386.70; 3. François Imbeau-Dulac, Montreal, 349.00.

WOMEN

Three-metre synchro: 1. Eloise Bélanger and Myriam Selmani, Montreal, 261.27; 2. Stephanie Hansen and Kim Lotnick, Vancouver, 238.32; 3. Celina Toth and Torri Olanski, London, Ont., 205.02.

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.

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