Caeli McKay: so close to a podium in the 10m event
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.