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Montréal, March 3, 2024 – Caeli McKay kept the suspense alive until the very end in the 10m Platform final on Sunday, at the Montréal Diving World Cup. The 24-year-old had a battle with Andrea Spendolini-Sirieix (England) throughout the final for the third step of the podium. In the end, it was the Briton who came out on top, with 1.60 points ahead of McKay.
The Calgary-born, currently Montréal-based athlete held on to provisional fourth place in her first three dives from the tower, just behind China’s Yuxi Chen and Hongchan Quan, and Spendolini Sirieix.
However, McKay impressed the crowd as well as the judges on her third dive (86.40 points) and fourth dive (79.20 points), earning the best score of the entire round on both occasions.
Bronze medallist at the most recent World Championships in Doha, Spendolini-Sirieix set the bar very high on her final jump, scoring 86.40 points, which put immense pressure on the Canadian.
Despite an excellent dive, McKay’s 76.80 points were simply not enough to put her ahead of the British athlete, and the Canadian ended the competition in fourth place, with a total of 383.10 points – which is nonetheless the best result of her career on the international scene.
“It’s certainly a bit of a bittersweet feeling to finish so close to the podium. I can’t be disappointed with my performance though, I’m really happy and proud of myself. The level of competition is extremely high, everyone is showing consistency, and it’s nice to see that I’m one of the best,” commented McKay, moments after the event came to a close.
Kate Miller also took part in the same final, and ended her day with 295.85 points and an eighth-place ranking
China’s Yuxi Chen took the gold medal with 415.35 points, just ahead teammate Hongchan Quan (411.45 points).
In men’s diving today, Cédric Fofana was the only Canadian in action in the 3m Springboard final. After two solid first dives put him in provisional fourth place, the Montréaler sadly struggled on his third, and was relegated to tenth place halfway through the final.
Yet Fofana didn’t give up, and was able to rally back to conclude his weekend in fine style, climbing two places to eighth place 416.05 points, his best score in an international senior competition.
“It’s a new start for me, and I’m really pleased to have accomplished this in front of my family and friends. I was nervous before the competition, but once it started, I calmed down. I managed to not get distracted by the other divers, and that worked,” commented Fofana after the competition.
China’s Zongyuan Wang finished on top of the podium with a total of 549.50 points, including 100.70 points on his sixth dive alone. He was joined on the podium by Mexico’s Osmar Olvera Ibarra (512.75 points) who earned silver, and England’s Jack Laugher (506.00 points).
Two tops-5 finishes in synchro!
Synchro finals were also on the program early Sunday at the Olympic Park pool. Aimee Wilsonand Margo Erlam earned themselves a fabulous result with a fourth place in the 3m Springboard event.
The two Canadians were provisionally sixth after three dives, when they turned it up a notch, scoring 67.50 points on their fourth dive. Wilson and Erlam concluded the competition on a high note, scoring 63.90 points on their final effort to bring their total to 285.90 points.
“Aimee and I are very good friends and I’m so happy to be able to share this moment with her. We didn’t expect to finish fourth at all! I don’t think we gave it our all either, so we’re excited for the future,” enthused Margo Erlam.
China’s Yiwen Chen and Yani Chang won gold with 329.40 points, while Americans Kassidy Cook and Sarah Bacon (312.60 points) took second place, ahead of Australians Maddison Keeney and Anabelle Smith (297.60 points).
Nathan Zsombor-Murray and Rylan Wiens also competed in the 10-metre synchro event but in the Men’s division, and finished in the top five. The Canadian duo got off to a good start in the final, finding themselves in provisional second place after three dives, including the best score of the third round with 86.40 points.
Things got a little more complicated for the Canadians afterwards, and they eventually slipped to fifth place with their final score of 409.95 points.
In the end, it was China’s duo who took the gold (457.23 points), ahead of the Mexican duo (428.97 points), and the British twosome (417.93 points).
“We were close to a medal. I’m happy with my performance, but I know Rylan is disappointed with his fourth dive. We know we can do well, but you have to be able to do well together, at the same time,” said Zsombor-Murray, explaining the main difficulty of synchro diving.
“Everything was going well and we were in the running for the podium, it’s disappointing that a more difficult dive had to happen. I wanted to move on quickly, because I knew I needed to forget about the bad dive, and instead focus on the next one,” concluded Rylan Wiens afterwards.
Of the eight events in which Canadians participated at the Montréal World Cup, Canuck divers were able to place in the top-5 on seven occasions.
The next exciting step in the Diving World Cup will take place from March 21 to 24, in Berlin, Germany.
ABOUT THE EVENT
From February 29 to March 3, the world’s best athletes are in action at Montreal’s Olympic Park Sports Centre for the first leg of the World Cup aquatic diving circuit. Over 120 divers, more than 20 countries, 9 exciting finals. With the Paris Olympics just a few months away, divers will want to stand out and show that they’re in top form.
The 2024 Diving World Cup comprises three stages. After Montreal, the second stage will take place in Berlin, Germany, from March 21 to 24, and the super finale will be held in China from April 19 to 21.
The Montreal Diving World Cup would not have been possible without the help of our partners: Tourism Montreal, the Government of Quebec, the Government of Canada, the Ville de Montréal and Speedo.
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Montréal, March 2, 2024 – Canadian divers made a suitably wonderful splash Saturday, the penultimate day of the Montréal Diving World Cup. Nathan Zsombor-Murray, the duo of Caeli McKay and Kate Miller, as well as Pamela Ware, all earned Top-5 rankings.
In the Men’s 10m event, Zsombor-Murray held on to the ‘virtual podium’ with the first four of six total dives from the tower. Although his second-to-last dive likely ended up costing him a medal, the Olympian was nonetheless sanguine about his day overall.
“I’m very happy with my performance, and it’s similar to last year’s (in Montréal). It went well, even if my fifth dive wasn’t as strong (as the others). I’m still making progress and I hope next time it’ll be better.”
Zsombor-Murray started his fifth dive well, but just before entering the water after opening up, it was clear that the dive had needed some fine-tuning for it to be optimal.
“It’s still a better performance than in Doha (at the World Championships in February). I know I can do better on certain dives. […] I wasn’t expecting a gold medal, but I was expecting a performance close to 500 points,” he concluded. Zsombor-Murray did collect 496.10 points in the event, which was eventually won by China’s Yang Hao (533.00).
Also a finalist in the same event, Saskatchewan’s Rylan Wiens(479.35) ended his day in sixth place.
Stayed tuned, as these two Canadians (Zsombor-Murray and Wiens) will team up in the 10m Synchro on Sunday.
Another fourth place
Earlier in the day, Caeli McKay and Kate Miller also finished fourth, but in the Women’s 10m Synchro, with a total of 287.91 points.
The Canadians got off to a slightly slower start to the competition today, but were able to recover in the second and third rounds, where they were provisionally ranked second. It was their fourth dive – with the highest degree of difficulty of the competition – that had a negative impact on their score. Yet they fought back on their fifth and final dive to earn their best score of the competition (74.88), and as a result, moved up one place in the overall standings.
“We have mixed feelings. We did four good dives,” commented Caeli McKay. “But that’s diving – it doesn’t always go perfectly. There are things I’m proud of in my (less successful) dive, but I lacked verticality when I entered the water, and that’s frustrating. I’m learning from it and honestly we’ve improved compared to last year.”
Miller remained supportive of her teammate in post-competition interviews: “Our fourth dive wasn’t our best, but I know what Caeli is capable of and I trust her. And, we’re going to show everyone what we can do at the next competition. […] We’ll be a united force as a team, even if things don’t go our way. We have to keep moving forward and focus on what we need to do.”
The gold medal went to China’s Chen Yuxi and Quan Hongchan (368.82).
Both McKay and Miller will take part in the final 10m Individual event of the World Cup.
Pamela Ware bounces back!
Pamela Ware’s fifth-place finish in the Women’s 3m final enabled her to put last month’s disappointment at the World Aquatics Championships yet another step behind her, and was beaming in a post-competition interview Saturday. The Team Canada Canadian veteran had earned herself 339.75 points in the event that was won by China’s Chen Yiwen (395.60). Calgary’s Aimee Wilson (248.85) ended up in 12th place.
“I’m super, super happy. I had a tough time in Doha, and worked hard not to fall back into the hole I was in after (the Tokyo Olympics),” admitted Ware. “There’s a big weight off my shoulders today, finally. […] My goal was to have fun, and I think it paid off.”
The Quebecer noted the importance of just going for it on her first call-up jump in the final; once she had done so, her stress evaporated and made way for the pure pleasure of diving.
Ware will be skipping the World Cups in Berlin (Germany) and Xi’an (China), in order to focus her energy and time on training for the Olympic trials.
“I’m preparing for my third Olympic Games. I don’t necessarily need to compete, and I certainly have enough experience. (What I need) is to get back into training and to perfect my dives in training, so I can be at my best during the Olympic Trials.”
More diving action awaits, as the Montréal World Cup concludes on Sunday. Note that Cédric Fofonawill be a finalist in the Men’s 3m competition, and Margo Erlam and Aimee Wilson will take part in the Women’s 3m Synchro event.
ABOUT THE EVENT
From February 29 to March 3, the world’s best athletes are in action at Montreal’s Olympic Park Sports Centre for the first leg of the World Cup aquatic diving circuit. Over 120 divers, more than 20 countries, 9 exciting finals. With the Paris Olympics just a few months away, divers will want to stand out and show that they’re in top form.
The 2024 Diving World Cup comprises three stages. After Montreal, the second stage will take place in Berlin, Germany, from March 21 to 24, and the super finale will be held in China from April 19 to 21.
The Montreal Diving World Cup would not have been possible without the help of our partners: Tourism Montreal, the Government of Quebec, the Government of Canada, the Ville de Montréal and Speedo.
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Montréal, March 1, 2024 – Canada was represented by an all-Montréal quartet in the team diving competition at the Diving World Cup in Montréal late Friday afternoon. Éloïse Bélanger, Amélie-Laura Jasmin, Benjamin Tessier, and Cédric Fofana, who all train with the CAMO Club, finished fifth with 378.20 points. For Bélanger, Jasmin, and Tessier, it was their first World Cup experience.
The Chinese team won the event.
Beyond the results, the Canadians were particularly focused on the fun aspect of the competition.
“We wanted to enjoy ourselves while winning it, and we managed to do the former, because we were really focused on having a good time. That’s the most important thing. We have good chemistry together, and I think that showed through during the event,” said Fofana.
“The team competition is kind of a bonus event, in the sense that it doesn’t count for our individual events. Our approach is to have fun. We make the most of it,” added Bélanger.
Jasmin and Fofana got the competition off to a strong start with their first individual dives on the 3m springboard. Canada was provisionally ranked third after the first round.
However, halfway through the competition, the Jasmin-Fofana duo struggled with its synchronized dive, and the team moved down to sixth place. On the 10m platform, Bélanger and Tessier moved the team back up a spot, allowing Canada to finish fifth.
“We did well individually, but we didn’t get much of a chance to practice our synchronized dive. However, I’m still satisfied with what we accomplished today [Friday]. We’re disappointed that we didn’t do well on the synchronized dive, but not as disappointed as we would have been if we had messed up our individual dives,” explained Fofana.
“Over the past two weeks, we only practiced the synchronized dive two or three times, at the most. The expectations are lower than for the individual dives,” added Jasmin.
In addition to a lack of practice, morphological differences can also add an element of challenge to a synchronized diving competition such as today’s.
“With Éloïse, it’s tougher to be synchronized. I’m taller than she is, so it’s difficult to time the dive and appear to be one single person in the air,” explained Tessier.
The Chinese team (506.35 points) was accompanied on the podium by Great Britain (438.05 points) and Australia (405.70 points), who finished second and third, respectively.
McKay, Miller, and Fofana in Sunday’s final
Today’s program also included the preliminary rounds of several individual competitions. Three Canadian athletes qualified for Sunday’s finals.
In the women’s 10 platform event, Caeli McKay finished first in her group with a total of 352.15 points. The score puts her in third place overall, behind Hongchan Quan and Yuxi Chen of China, who won gold and silver, respectively, at the World Championships in Doha in February.
“My dives went well all day today, and what’s more, I still have energy left for the final! I’m going to do everything I can to make it to the podium on Sunday. All my toughest opponents are here, and the level of competition is really high,” said McKay.
Kate Miller also broke the top twelve with 308.05 points and a tenth-place finish. She too advances to the final.
“My dives were very consistent, and I felt really confident. I’m very excited to compete in the final. It was my goal for this weekend, so mission accomplished! I’m really proud of myself! I wanted to enjoy myself this weekend, at this competition which is so close to home,” said Miller, of Ottawa.
In the women’s 10m qualifications, Éloïse Bélanger finished 16th with 241.65 points.
In the men’s 3m event, Cédric Fofana fed off the crowd’s energy to take tenth place in the preliminary rounds, with 387.75 points.
“My first three dives were solid, which gave me a bit of leeway for the next ones. I finished with my most difficult dive, which gave me a lot of points. I’m glad to have qualified for the final in front of my parents. I’m very, very happy,” said Fofana.
Bryden Hattie came very close to securing his ticket to the final, finishing 13th with 375.90 points. His ranking makes him the first reserve diver for the final.
Zongyuan Wang of China dominated the men’s event, earning a score of 522.15.
On Thursday, Pamela Ware and Aimee Wilson qualified for the women’s 3m final, while Nathan Zsombor-Murray and Rylan Wiens did likewise in the men’s platform event.
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Montréal, February 29, 2024 – Canada’s athletes performed brilliantly on day one of the World Aquatics Diving World Cup in Montréal on Thursday, where four of them qualified for individual finals!
Two preliminary contests were held at the Olympic Park Sports Centre on Thursday: the women’s 3m springboard and the men’s 10m platform.
Pamela Ware obtained Canada’s highest result, finishing sixth in the women’s 3m qualifiers with 309.50 points. Last year, she clinched the silver medal in the same event, in addition to a bronze medal in the synchronized 3m competition.
Ware will not be the only Canadian to compete in front of the Montréal crowd in Saturday’s springboard finals. Aimee Wilsonalso qualified for the final with a twelfth-place finish today. The Albertan was “in shock” after amassing 279.00 points at her very first World Cup, having only learned that she would take part in the event just over a week ago.
“I was definitely more nervous at the beginning of the day! I’m glad I was able to deliver the goods and advance to the final. I didn’t know I was going to be here until the last minute, so I wasn’t as prepared as I would have liked to be,” said Wilson, who is excited at the prospect of diving in front of her family this weekend. “I’m glad I put in a decent performance, and I’m looking forward to showing everyone what I’m capable of in the final.”
Montréal’s Amélie-Laura Jasmin was also in action today. She took 13th place in the event, an important milestone in her burgeoning career. In fact, it was her first-ever World Cup.
“It was a new experience for me. It wasn’t the result I was hoping for, but I’m glad to have broken the ice,” said Jasmin, who finished the day with 245.10 points.
Two Canadians advance to men’s 10m final
Three Canadians took part in today’s men’s 10m qualifications, which were held after the women’s preliminaries.
Nathan Zsombor-Murray and Rylan Wiens, who were both in the first group to compete, both qualified for Saturday’s finals.
“Overall, I’m pretty satisfied. I messed up my third dive, but I recovered with three solid jumps and got myself into a good position to advance to the final,” said Wiens, who finished seventh in today’s qualification rounds with 431.85 points. He also praised the spectators, who kept the atmosphere lively throughout the competition.
“Diving in Canada is always amazing! The crowds are great! I’ve spent a lot of time here. It’s almost like my second home. It’s exciting to already be familiar with the place, and not have to get to know it upon arrival.”
“There’s room for improvement in all my dives. But I’ve still got more in the tank! Now I’m going to rest, and I’ll come back strong on Saturday for the final,” concluded Wiens, of Saskatchewan.
Nathan Zsombor-Murray finished ninth in the qualifications.
“I wasn’t feeling too confident after my fifth dive. I know I’m capable of better, so I’m a bit disappointed in that sense,” he explained.
However, with his sixth and final plunge from the platform, the Montrealer got back on track, earning a final total of 411.75 points.
“It always feels good to finish with a good dive, but it would have been even better if I had been satisfied with all my dives!” added Zsombor-Murray, who won bronze at last year’s event in Montréal.
Benjamin Tessier finished 17th in the 10m event with a cumulative score of 377.25 points.
“It’s a bit disappointing. I worked hard to get here, and this isn’t the result I was hoping for,” admitted the 18-year-old. “But at the same time, I’m super happy to have competed at the World Cup! This was my first big international competition, so I hope to build upon this one and keep doing better in the future.”
The Montréal World Cup will continue on Friday with the qualification rounds for additional individual competitions. Caeli McKay, Kate Miller, and Éloïse Bélanger will compete in the women’s 10m event, while Bryden Hattie and Cédric Fofanatake part in the men’s 3m.
Amélie-Laura Jasmin, Éloïse Bélanger, Benjamin Tessier, and Cédric Fofana will also join forces for the team competition.
For a detailed schedule and further information about the event, visit www.diving.ca/worldcup.
ABOUT THE EVENT
From February 29 to March 3, the world’s best athletes are in action at Montreal’s Olympic Park Sports Centre for the first leg of the World Cup aquatic diving circuit. Over 120 divers, more than 20 countries, 9 exciting finals. With the Paris Olympics just a few months away, divers will want to stand out and show that they’re in top form.
The 2024 Diving World Cup comprises three stages. After Montreal, the second stage will take place in Berlin, Germany, from March 21 to 24, and the super finale will be held in China from April 19 to 21.
The Montreal Diving World Cup would not have been possible without the help of our partners: Tourism Montreal, the Government of Quebec, the Government of Canada, the Ville de Montréal and Speedo.
Filed Under: Uncategorized
February 8, 2024 – Divers Nathan Zsombor-Murray and Rylan Wiens have demonstrated great consistency on Thursday during the 10m synchronized event at the World Aquatics Championships in Doha, Qatar. Their 388.20 points enabled them to finish the competition in fifth place, but more importantly, secured their spot for the Olympic Games in Paris.
Therefore, Zsombor-Murray and Wiens have imitated Caeli McKay and Kate Miller, who accomplished the same feat in the women’s final on Tuesday.
“A huge weight just fell off our shoulders. That was our main goal at the World Championships. Now, we can breathe better!” said Nathan Zsombor-Murray.
“We can check that from our list! I was really nervous during the competition, but we did everything we had to do. Nathan was the only person that I wished to live this moment with,” added Rylan Wiens.
After three excellent dives to start the day, the Canadian duo raised their level of play for their fourth dive, earning them 79.92 points. That dive was the round’s second best, and placed Canada in a 3rd provisional position.
The divers from Ukraine and Mexico gave all they had for their last two dives, finishing ahead of the Canadians in the final standings. Zsombor-Murray and Wiens finished fifth with 388.20 points.
“I didn’t know our scores nor our position in the standings during the final. I did have a feeling that we were in a good position, because we were diving well. I was confident, but it was stressful because we knew we had to perform well on every dive to get the best possible results,” noted Zsombor-Murray.
On his side, Wiens couldn’t resist looking at the provisional standings before the last dive, and that ultimately had a positive effect on him.
“I actually thought we were lower in the standings before the last dive. I looked up to the scoreboard, and noticed we were in provisional 4th place. I asked Nathan if he wanted to know, and he stopped me right away! It took a bit of pressure off, knowing we didn’t need to end the competition perfectly,” continued Wiens.
Junjie Lian and Hao Yang, from China, won the gold with 470.76 points. The British duo of Thomas Daley and Noah Williams (422.37 points) earned the second position, while Ukrainians Oleksii Sereda and Kirill Boliukh (406.47 points) finished third.
Nathan Zsombor-Murray will participate in the Olympics for a second time, after finishing in fifth place in the synchronized event in Tokyo, partnering with Vincent Riendeau. As for Rylan Wiens, his qualification for the Olympics is a dream come true.
“Winning a medal, we’ll keep that for the Olympic Games,” proudly added Rylan Wiens.
The diving duo will be back in action this Friday as they head for the individual 10m preliminary competition.
On the women’s side, Pamela Ware and Mia Vallée took part in the 3m qualifying event. Ware finished 25th with 238.10 points, while Vallée followed from close in 29th place. They will not participate in the semi-finals, scheduled for Friday.
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February 6, 2024 – The competition was fierce and the stakes were high in the 10m synchronized diving final at the World Aquatics Championships in Doha, Qatar, on Tuesday. China, Great Britain, France, and the USA had already qualified for the Paris Olympic Games, and four final spots were up for grabs.
With a final score of 287.34, Caeli McKay and Kate Miller finished sixth, which was enough to secure the Canadian duo’s ticket to the French capital in July. Moments after the final, the two athletes still could not quite believe they had accomplished their goal.
“It’s unreal! It’s crazy! We’re extremely relieved and very excited. I still can’t believe it. It’s really crazy!” exclaimed Miller.
“We’re really happy. It was a good challenge today (Tuesday). Qualifying for the Olympics is a great achievement. When we get home, we’ll work really hard. We can focus on Paris now!” added McKay.
After four rounds, the battle for bronze was fierce between Ukraine, Great Britain, Spain, and Canada. Lois Toulson and Andrea Spendolini Sirieix of Great Britain ultimately secured the third spot on the podium with a score of 299.34.
Despite an excellent final dive, McKay and Miller were unable to move up from provisional sixth place.
“Going into our final dive, I knew it was close, but I didn’t know which teams were ahead of us. We focused on our dive so as to get the best possible score. We also wanted to enjoy ourselves, and we did!” explained McKay.
According to the two divers, their complicity is one of the keys to their success.
“This event was clearly more enjoyable than my individual. I had someone to share the moment with, and we could feed of each other positivity”, said McKay
“It’s really special to be able to experience this moment with Caeli, we were stressed but mostly excited”, continued Miller.
The gold medal went to Yuxi Chen and Hongchan Quan of China, who finished first with 362.22 points. Mi Rae Kim and Jin Mi Jo of North Korea finished second with 320.70 points.
This will be Miller’s first Olympic experience. It will be the second for McKay, who placed fourth in the 10m synchronized event in Tokyo in 2021 with Meaghan Benfeito.
A comeback and a new experience in men’s 3m
Earlier in the day, Cédric Fofana and Carson Paul competed in the preliminary rounds of the men’s 3m springboard event. Fofana finished 34th with 338.20 points, while Paul finished 36th with a score of 330.80. Neither Canadian advanced to the semi-finals.
Seventy athletes participated in the preliminary rounds, which lasted more than five hours.
It was Fofana’s first international competition since the Tokyo Olympic Games. Although he was not among the sixteen semi-finalists, the 20-year-old was satisfied with his overall performance.
“Considering the circumstances, it didn’t go too badly. I’m pretty happy. Of course, I would have liked to go further, and there are certain things I need to work on. It was the first time I took part in such a long competition. There was a lot of waiting around, and I tried to take it easy between each dive,” explained the Québécois.
For Paul, whose usual specialty is the 10m platform, it was the first Senior World Championships of his career, and he thoroughly enjoyed his experience in Qatar.
“I was pretty satisfied with my first five dives, which were very consistent. Overall, it was a great experience. I’m glad the day is over. It was a long competition. It was very different, but it was cool,” he said.
The diving events will continue on Wednesday in Doha. Pamela Ware and Mia Vallée will compete in the 3m synchronized event. The two Québécoises finished fifth at the World Championships in 2023.
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