Shane Miszkiel

July 8, 2010

WINNIPEG – Shane Miszkiel of Victoria successfully defended his title on men's three-metre in the 16-18 age group on Thursday to open the 2010 Speedo Junior Nationals diving competition which is also a selection meet for this September's world junior championships.

Miszkiel produced a steady performance to earn the victory with 554.20 points and secure a nomination to his second world junior team. Nicholas Beaupré and Samuel Parent, both of Montreal, were second and third respectively.

''I'm really excited that I'll be able to end my junior career at the junior worlds,'' said Miszkiel, 18. ''I was happy with how I managed my performance today. Through the prelims and final, I only missed one dive. I stayed focused and calm all day.

In the women's one-metre for 16-18, Pamela Ware of Montreal took the crown with 485.70 points. Jo-Annie Dubois of Quebec City was second and Morgan Weller of Victoria third.

''The big challenge for me today were my twisting dives because they are new,'' said Ware, 17, also headed to her second world juniors. ''And I wound up doing them a lot better than I expected.''

In the 14-15 age group, Sam Valentine of Saskatoon took the men's platform crown.

In the 12-13 age group, winners were Philippe Gagné of Montreal on boys one-metre and Samantha Maiorino of Pointe-Claire, Que., on girls three-metre. Maiorono finished the competition with a strong inward dive to snare the win after not scoring as high on her previous two dives.

''I just told myself I really had to get that last dive to make the national team,'' said Maiorono. ''That was my goal this weekend. The inward is one of the toughest dives on my list and I keep it last because it has the potential to get me a lot of points.''

In the 11 and under age group Félix Gauthier of Quebec City took the boys platform title.

Competition continues through to Sunday at the Pan Am Pool.

Full results: http://www.issmembership.com/diving/live/schedule.aspx

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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