Another Victory for Claude-Olivier Lisé-Coderre
Three athletes were awarded gold medals in their respective categories on Thursday at the Junior National Diving Festival, being held at Parc Jean-Drapeau. Among them was Claude-Olivier Lisé-Coderre, who earned his second title in as many days in Montréal.
Yesterday, Lisé-Coderre, who trains with the Camo Club, won the Group C 3-metre springboard event. Today, it was the Group C 1-metre contest.
He dominated the final, emerging with a total of 335.15 points. He was the only diver to earn more than 50 points on a single dive, which he managed to do on his last three jumps.
“I’m very proud of myself. I feel happy and relieved, like I did yesterday. It was another good performance to end a great day of competition,” he said.
Although his win on Wednesday had been unexpected, the gold medallist felt confident going into today’s 1m final.
“It’s my best event. I had set some technical and scoring objectives for myself, and I felt more confident than I did in the 3m. I guess it’s mission accomplished!”
As in Wednesday’s 3m springboard event, Kash Tarasoff (Saskatoon) claimed second place with 297.90 points. Joseph Obisanya (PCDC) finished third with 284.70 points.
Personal best for Livia Mckibbin
Livia Mckibbin is the first to admit she was disappointed in her 1m springboard results on Wednesday, when she was eliminated following the Group C qualification rounds.
However, she was determined to quickly put it behind her, and she did just that in the 3m event, capturing the Group C gold medal and setting a personal best in the process.
“It was one of my best competitions ever, so I’m really happy!” she exclaimed.
Mckibbin, who trains with the Aro Club in Quebec City, earned 316.60 points in the final, edging out Daria Chambers (Forest City, 293.60) and Lila Gokiert (Calgary, 293.45). This was the second podium finish for Gokiert at the Junior National Festival. She won gold in 1m springboard.
Mckibbin’s successful performances during her pre-Festival training boosted her confidence and her motivation as she prepared for the event.
“My coach told me that if I stayed positive, the competition would go well. So I did what he said and it did go well! Since I missed out on the 3m final, I wanted to make it to the 1m. And once I was there, I wanted to take it even further. I decided to go for the win and I finished first!” said the champion.
Consistency pays off
Although her dives were less difficult than those of her opponents, Presley Deck (Saskatoon) clinched the Group B platform event.
Thanks to her second-place finish in her qualification heat, she felt considerably less pressure going into the final.
“That felt great. After the preliminary rounds, I was in a good spot, so I felt confident about the final. I knew I could beat the others by executing my easier dives well, even though theirs had a higher level of difficulty,” said Deck, who scored 323.15 points for the win.
Deck had felt nervous earlier in the day, since she’s been spending less time training on the platform lately, preferring to focus on other disciplines. She had only recently resumed her platform training.
“My expectations were not very high. I’m proud to have won an event I didn’t really train for! It really boosts my motivation,” she concluded.
The battle for the other two spots on the podium was much tighter. The contest was decided in the very last round between Aidyn Pankiw-Brennan (ESPDC) and Luisa Arco-Fragoeiro (SFEC).
Pankiw-Brennan managed to squeak ahead and claim the gold medal with 296.40 points. Arco-Fragoeiro also finished in the top three, only 0.15 points behind her opponent.
The Junior National Festival will continue on Friday at Parc Jean-Drapeau, where five finals will be held.
The 2022 Junior National Diving Festivals is presented by Speedo, and could not occur without the generous financial support from our public partners, the City of Montréal, Tourisme Montreal, the Government of Quebec, and the Government of Canada.
For the complete schedule or to view the competition, click here.