April 20, 2010

Alexandre Despatie

VERACRUZ, Mexico – Three-time world champion Alexandre Despatie of Laval, Que., won the silver medal on men’s three-metre springboard on Tuesday at the third and final stop on the FINA World Series diving circuit.

The competition was originally scheduled for this weekend in Sheffield, England but FINA decided to reschedule the third stage in Veracruz again due to the ongoing air traffic disturbance in European airspace. The second stop was held here this past weekend.

On men’s three-metre, Yahel Castillo of Mexico thrilled the home crowd with a golden performance.  Despatie, the winner this past weekend, produced another strong showing finishing second while four-time world champion Kai Qin of China took the bronze.

“It was a close battle and it was another good day for me,” said Despatie.  “I felt I had a better semifinal than on Saturday and again I was able to come back even stronger in the final.  I think everyone was feeling the effects of such a short turnaround between events but we train hard everyday in order to adapt to these kinds of situations.”

Despatie who has struggled with injuries the past couple of seasons said having two meets within a week was also a physical test for him.

“I’m feeling more and more comfortable with every meet,” he said.  “My back is responding really well to what I’m putting it through.  It’s not perfect but it’s getting better and better.”

On women’s three-metre synchro, Jennifer Abel of Laval, Que., and Meaghan Benfeito of Montreal took fourth spot with Zi He and Wu Minxia of China earning the gold.

“There are areas we need improve but we are satisfied with our performance,” said Abel.

Benfeito also competed on women’s 10-metre tower and was eliminated in the semifinals.  The final was held later Tuesday.

“It wasn’t my best competition,” admitted Benfeito, fourth in the event at the world championships last year.  “My first three dives were solid but I completely missed my fourth one and that put me out of contention.  It’s disappointing, I wanted to do better.”

Competition ends Wednesday.