Mia Vallée Wins 1m Gold, Optimistic About 3m
May 17, 2024 – The 2024 Canadian Diving Trials began on Friday at the International Aquatic and Training Centre in Windsor, Ontario. Mia Vallée was one of the day’s bright stars, capturing the gold medal in the 1m springboard event, thus giving herself a shot of confidence ahead of Sunday’s 3m event.
The diver from Beaconsfield set the tone of the event from the outset of this morning’s qualifiers, securing first place in the standings with a score of 273.40 points. Alexa Fung (238.80 points) and Keira Lu (228.35 points) placed second and third, respectively.
In the finals, half the points earned by each diver in the qualification rounds were added to their final scores, giving Vallée a head start over her opponents.
Nevertheless, the Québécoise pulled out all the stops in the finals, earning 56.40 points on her first dive, to which she added 61.10 more in the next round, a few moments later.
Although her next two dives fell short of her expectations, Vallée finished with a strong performance, claiming her spot on the top step of the podium and drawing applause from the Ontario crowd.
“Overall, I think things went pretty well. I messed up a few dives, but my technique was excellent, and I’m not too worried about minor timing errors. The atmosphere here was great, and people really cheered me on, which made me feel really good,” explained Vallée.
Clearly pleased with today’s result, Vallée now hopes to replicate it during Sunday’s 3m springboard event, where an Olympic qualification is at stake.
“I mainly wanted to use the 1m event as a confidence builder, to see how I would respond to the pressure. I did my easiest dives, using them as training for Sunday’s event. I’m super excited. These are my first Olympic trials, and I’ve been working really hard to reach my goals,” she added.
The battle for second place today was fierce. In the end, Lu claimed the silver medal with 363.33 points. Fung, of Toronto, finished third with 361.90 points. For the two athletes, today’s medals were their first at the Senior Canadian Championships.
“I dive with the best athletes in the country, so I’m very proud to have won my first senior medal. This is a very exciting weekend. I’ve always dreamed of going to the Olympics, and seeing that I’m not that far off is really encouraging for the future,” said Lu.
“I’m really proud of myself. The last few weeks have been crazy, with a lot of competitions, so I’m glad to have done well here. This is my first time at the Olympic trials. It’s amazing,” added Fung.
On the men’s side, several 3m springboard specialists were in action on Friday in Windsor. Ontario’s Victor Povzner, who dominated the morning’s qualifying rounds, maintained his momentum in the finals to take gold with a total of 626.10 points.
On his third and fourth dives, he earned scores of 89.30 and 84.00, respectively.
“I didn’t really have any expectations going in. I just wanted to enjoy myself. My intention was to do my best and hopefully get a good result, and that’s exactly what happened. I’m really proud of my fourth dive. I still haven’t been able to execute it the way I want to in training, but today, it went well,” said Povzner.
Late in the program, British Columbia’s Carson Paul put some pressure on Povzner, finishing second with 622.38 points. Thomas Ciprick, who is originally from Calgary but now lives in Baie-d’Urfé, rounded out the podium with a final score of 599.98.
The 2024 Canadian Diving Trials will continue until Sunday in Windsor. The men’s 1m springboard and women’s platform events will take place on Saturday.
Sunday will feature the women’s 3m springboard and men’s platform events.