A second gold medal for Sonya Palkhivala
Sonya Palkhivala stood atop the podium for the second time on Sunday, the perfect conclusion to an incredible weekend of competition in Dresden, Germany.
The Pointe-Claire diver started her experience by reaching the second step of the podium in the 3m A&B synchro event on Friday, alongside her partner Julianne Boisvert. She continued her momentum by winning the gold medal in the 1m group A on Saturday, despite a very bad night of sleep.
On Sunday, she dominated the 3m group A event. She amassed a total of 462.55 points, more than 60 points ahead of Italy’s Elisa Pezzini, who finished second with 400.80 points.
Australia’s Olivia Roche (392.45) took third place. Also in action, Quebec’s Julianne Boisvert placed 8th.
For Sonya Palkhivala, the goal of the weekend was only to have fun and show what she could do. This mindset ultimately allowed her to return home with three medals.
“I wanted to keep it light and have fun. I try to stay positive at all times. I was here to have a good time, to show what I’ve been working on. I’m proud of it,” she said.
On the men’s side, Albertan Luc Goertzen won the silver medal in the 1m Group B with a score of 384.50. He was edged out by Britain’s Oscar Kane, who scored 409.35. Germany’s Fine Awe took third place with a score of 375.45.
Goertzen had to deal with the pain of a training injury. How did he manage to get a second place finish despite this?
“A lot of focus. I had a little accident the day before my competition, but I managed to come back and give it my all in the 1m. I was second in the preliminaries and managed to push in the finals to maintain that position,” said Goertzen.
“I suffered an injury that prevented me from competing in the platform event. It really hurt yesterday and today, but it didn’t get worse in practice so I overcame the pain to perform today,” he explained.
Canada ends its weekend in Germany with a total of eight medals. “I’m really proud to be part of this team. It’s an amazing team. A great group to be with. Everyone is very talented and has a good attitude. We had a really good weekend,” commented Sonya Palkhivala.