Caeli
McKay
Women's Senior National Team
About Caeli
Pointe-Clare Diving Club
Montreal, QC
Calgary, AB
June 25, 1999
Since 2013
Platform
Caeli's Bio
Based in Montreal at the Pointe-Claire Diving Club under coach Yihua Li since 2016, Caeli McKay is one of Canada’s top 10-metre tower divers. Caeli also forms a partnership with Olympic medallist Meaghan Benfeito in the 10-metre synchro event.
A national team member since 2013, McKay was born and raised in Calgary where she learned to dive. In 2016, at age 16, she made the difficult decision to leave her family and move to Montreal. She became Meaghan Benfeito’s new partner in the 10-metre synchro event after Roseline Filion retired after the 20216 Rio Olympics. McKay initially resided with Benfeito, whom she credits for helping her get acclimatized to her new surroundings.
While there was initially an adaptation period with the young teenager joining the Olympic veteran – McKay even grew taller during the early period – they have gone on to become Olympic medal contenders for 2021.
Together, McKay and Benfeito have won medals at the 2018 Commonwealth Games, the 2019 Pan American Games, the FINA Diving World Series, and the 2021 FINA Diving World Cup.
Individually McKay has emerged as a diver to watch notably winning a silver medal at the 2019 Pan American Games, and a bronze at the 2021 FINA Diving World Cup.
McKay was initially a gymnast and started diving when she was six years old. She attended an intro-to-diving summer camp hosted by the Dive Calgary club. However, her passion for sport was born when she was five, while watching Olympic medalists cry on the podium at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens. She told her parents: “I want to go there, I want to go to the Olympics!”
McKay’s first podium at the senior national level came at the 2014 Winter Nationals when she was 14 years old – behind her idols Meaghan Benfeito and Roseline Filion on tower. That’s when she realized she could go far in the sport.
In her spare time, the mountain girl loves to take part in outdoor sports like mountain biking, hiking, snowboarding and fly fishing.
SPONSORS
In number
Career highlights
- 2 World Cup medals
- 2 Pan Am Games medals
- 1 Commonwealth Games medals
Best scores
365.70
Women’s 10m
2019 Pan Am Games
366.80
Women’s 10m
2019 Summer Senior Nationals
328.47
Women’s 10m synchro (Benfeito)
2019 FINA World Series – Montreal
Caeli's Results
-
2020
Competition Date Location 10M 10MS Mixed 10M* FINA World Series 1 02-2020 Montreal, CAN 11th / 256.55 1st / 313.02 3rd / 306.54 -
2019
Competition Date Location 10M 10MS* Mixed 10M* Pan Am Games 08-2019 Lima, PER 2nd / 365.70 1st / 320.64 FINA World Championships 07-2019 Gwangju, KOR 7th / 331.40 4th / 304.05 Summer National Championships 05-2019 Windsor, ON 2nd / 366.80 FINA World Series 5 05-2019 London, GBR 6th / 295.25 5th / 307.05 FINA World Series 4 05-2019 Kazan, RUS 9th / 297.05 5th / 272.70 3rd / 312.42 FINA World Series 3 04-2019 Montreal, CAN 2nd / 328.47 FINA Grand Prix 04-2019 Calgary, CAN 2nd / 341.25 1st / 305.85 FINA World Series 1 03-2019 Beijing, CHN 3rd / 313.14 FINA World Series 2 03-2019 Sagamihara, JPN 3rd / 311.70 Winter National Championships 01-2019 Victoria, BC 3rd / 353.30 1st / 309.30 * All 10m synchro results are with Meaghan Benfeito
* All mixed 10m synchro results are with Vincent Riendeau -
2018
Competition Date Location 10M 10MS* Mixed 10M FINA World Cup 06-2018 Wuhan, CHN 3rd / 324.42 2nd / 301.20 (Riendeau) FINA Grand Prix 2 05-2018 Calgary, CAN 6th / 285.80 2nd / 303.42 FINA World Series 4 05-2018 Kazan, RUS 6th / 288.90 FINA World Series 3 04-2018 Montreal, CAN 4th / 293.70 Commonwealth Games 04-2018 Gold Coast, AUS 6th / 325.90 2nd / 312.12 FINA World Series 2 03-2018 Fuji, JPN 9th / 310.20 6th / 283.20 FINA World Series 1 03-2018 Beijing, CHN 8th / 329.20 5th / 290.88 Winter Senior National Championships 01-2018 Saskatoon, SK 3rd / 310.35 * All 10m synchro results are with Meaghan Benfeito
-
2017
Competition Date Location 10M 10MS Summer Senior National Championships 06-2017 Scarborough, CAN 4th FINA Grand Prix 2 04-2017 Gatineau, CAN 4th (Benfeito) FINA World Series 3 03-2017 Kazan, RUS 2nd (Benfeito) FINA World Series 2 03-2017 Guangzhou, CHN 4th (Benfeito) FINA World Series 1 03-2017 Beijing, CHN 4th (Benfeito) FINA Grand Prix 1 02-2017 Rostock, GER 2nd (Benfeito) -
2016
Competition Date Location 3M 10M 3MS Australian Grand Prix 10-2016 Gold Coast, AUS 6th 3rd (Vallee) Malaysian Grand Prix 10-2016 Kuching, MAS 6th 3rd (Vallee) Speedo Junior Elite National Championships 07-2016 Winnipeg, MB 2nd (McCool) Summer Senior Nationals OIympic Trials 06-2016 Toronto, CAN 1st 2nd Spanish Grand Prix 01-2016 Madrid, ESP 5th 6th -
2015
Competition Date Location 1M 3M 10M Winter Senior National Championships 12-2015 Saskatoon, SK 1st 3rd 6th Pan Am Junior Championships 10-2015 Matanzas, CUB 4th 2nd 4th Speedo Junior Elite National Championships 07-2015 Edmonton, AB 1st 1st 1st Italian Grand Prix 07-2015 Bolzano, ITA 12th Summer Senior National Championships 05-2015 Victoria, BC 1st 1st 3rd -
2014
Competition Date Location 1M 3M 10M 3MS FINA World Junior Championships 09-2014 Penza, RUS 4th 14th 8th 5th (McCool) Speedo Junior Elite National Championships 08-2014 Victoria, BC 2nd 1st 2nd 1st (McCool) Gillette Canada Cup 05-2014 Gatineau, QC 13th Winter Senior National Championships 03-2014 Saskatoon, SK 6th 3rd -
2013
Competition Date Location 1M 3M 10M 3MS Pan American Junior Championship 09-2013 Tucson, AZ 1st 2nd 6th Canada Games 08-2013 Sherbrooke, QC 6th 3rd 2nd 4th (Wilson) Speedo Junior Elite National Championships 07-2013 Thunder Bay, ON 2nd 1st 1st 2nd (Wilson) Summer Senior National Championships 05-2013 Quebec City, QC 7th 14th 9th International Youth Diving Meet 04-2013 Dresden, GER 3rd 10th -
2012-2009
Competition Date Location 1M 3M 10M Speedo Junior National Championship 07-2012 Saskatoon, SK 1st 1st 2nd Speedo Junior National Championship 07-2011 Pointe-Claire, QC 15th 10th 21st Speedo Junior National Championship 07-2010 Winnipeg, MB 2nd 4th 12th Speedo Junior National Championship 07-2009 Victoria, BC 13th 6th