Four Canadians qualify for finals Thursday
Montreal World Cup
Montréal, February 26, 2026 – Today, Thursday, a total of four Canadian divers earned their berths for the finals at the Montréal World Cup.
In the Men’s 10m tower event, Benjamin Tessier (440.60) and Matt Cullen (439.30) were in the first group to qualify, and finished in fourth and fifth place, respectively. Their quality dives will enable them to pass directly into Saturday’s finals.
The two aforementioned divers’ places in the finals were confirmed only after Saskatchewan’s Rylan Wiens dove. Wiens ended up with a total of 390.10 points, and a 16th place rank – sadly not enough to permit him to qualify.
Throughout the day, Tessier and Cullen spurred each other on – a friendly, rather than cut-throat competition between the two. Speaking about his teammate and their amicable duelling, Benjamin Tessier commented “When I saw he (Cullen) was slated to go ahead of me, it made me want to dive better. It’s kind of like we push each other to do better.”
It’s worth noting that there was additional pressure on divers competing Thursday at the Montréal Cup, given that the event determined not only who would be admitted into the finals in the proudly Francophone city, but also who would qualify for the Beijing Super Final in early May.
Why the high-stakes competition? The World Aquatics Federation confirmed just this Thursday morning that the only other World Cup – set to take place next week in Zapopan, Mexico – had to be cancelled due to recent violence that has been rocking the region. In consequence, the Montréal competition’s results will therefore be the only ones that count towards the qualification process for the upcoming important event in China.
Tessier was pleased to have dove well, despite having been absent from the international scene for quite some time. “My last competition was six or seven months ago, so it’s been a while. I did feel a little rusty, but after one or two dives, I was back in the groove. I felt like I was in it, and that I found my bearings once again. Now I just need to fine-tune things a little more – because I think I can do even better than this… which is a good thing!”
Matt Cullen secured his ticket to the grand finale when compatriot Rylan Wiens missed his fourth and fifth dives, and as a result, fell behind him in the standings.
Interviewed before he knew he would be a finalist, Cullen already had a smile on his face. “I’m really happy! My goal was the be consistent so I could get to the finals, and I think that’s exactly what I was able to do. There was definitely some more pressure, since it’s just a single competition to get qualified for the Super Final in China. I was really stressed out during the first dive, but I focused and I knew I would be able to succeed.”
Margo Erlam leaves no room for doubt!
In the Women’s 3m Springboard event earlier today, Margo Erlam (295.95) and Sonya Palkhivala (273.35) finished 6thand 13th, respectively. Mia Vallée(271.55) was also in the mix, and took 15th place. The top 12 divers qualified, but with a maximum of two athletes per country, rules which explain why Palkhivala advanced to the final round despite her 13th place finish.
Erlam dove in the first of two groups, and had to wait a solid hour before finding out if she would officially qualify for Saturday afternoon’s final. Regardless of the wait, she was confident about what lay ahead.
“I think it’s a good preliminary score, and I was consistent. Everything went the way I wanted it to. There are a few aspects that could have been a bit cleaner, but I was powerful and I didn’t hold back,” said the Calgary athlete, whose mother arrived in Montréal in the wee hours of Thursday morning to watch her daughter dive.
Diving fans may recall that Erlam placed 22nd in the Women’s 3m event at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, yet many would not guess that this accomplished athlete was still a little nervous about breaking the proverbial ice at this first World Cup of the season. “The first dive is always a little more nerve-wracking than the others, but the crowd was incredible right from the start. You can feel the support for the team, so that’s great!” she noted.
Sonya Palkhivala’s day was certainly one of ups and downs. The diver from Pointe-Claire, Québec, injured her leg during warm-ups a mere 20 minutes before the competition began. Despite what was surely a fraught moment, Palkhivala’s day turned out for the better, as she qualified for the first-time ever for an individual final at a World Cup.
Discussing her eventful day, she commented “I wanted to have fun, and thought it would be nice to make it to the final. It turns out that I got both, so that’s great! I was on adrenaline, but I was also able to stay calm and compete,” said the young diver who will celebrate her 21st birthday next month, adding that she managed her stress well today, something which is often a challenge.
There’s more diving excitement and skill still to come at the Montréal World Cup. The Men’s 3m preliminaries, Women’s 10m preliminaries, and the Mixed Team final are all set to take place Friday.
