Molly Carlson wins Gold, Jessica Macaulay wins Silver
May 27, 2023 – Molly Carlson was the queen of the weekend at the World Cup in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. She topped the podium this weekend in the women’s event at the High Diving World Cup in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Jessica Macaulay took bronze, and Canada dominated the country rankings. What a day!
Molly Carlson earned a total of 374.00 points for her four dives. After the first two rounds, she was in second place. She climbed to the top of the rankings in the third round, ahead of Australia’s Rhiannan Iffland.
Molly’s final dive guaranteed her first place finish and beat Iffland by just over 10 points. The Australian took second place with a total of 363.85. Jessica Macaulay took bronze with a score of 325.70.
Carlson has been working hard to prepare for the 2023 season. She added three new dives to her list, increasing her degrees of difficulty considerably.
“What a start to the season! To learn three new dives in the off-season, to bring that here, and to show everyone that I can go in more than two directions, it’s a dream come true,” exclaimed Molly Carlson, who trains at the CAMO Diving Club.
“I felt really strong and consistent in my dives. I’m really looking forward to my first World Championships in Fukuoka. Hopefully, between now and then, I’ll be able to keep my winning streak going. I’m really happy with the work we’ve done with Stéphane,” she added.
Her coach, Stéphane Lapointe, couldn’t be prouder. “Molly worked so hard in preparation for the season. It’s incredible to be able to add three new dives to her list. Our goal was not only to meet the criteria, but above all to create a competitive list for her to win. It paid off,” he said.
Jessica Macaulay, who also trains at CAMO with Coach Lapointe, was proud of her performance and the way she approached the competition.
“I’m really happy with the result and with each of my four dives. I was practicing several new mental preparation tools that I learned recently. I did my life coach training last December, so this season I’ll be able to experiment with the techniques I’ve learned. I think it’s made all the difference. I just really feel more in control when I’m on the platform,” she explained.
Stéphane Lapointe was keen to emphasize the consistency and quality of Macaulay’s dives.
In her first international experience at the senior level, Simone Leathead (CAMO) finished 8th with 296.60 points. Aimee Harrison (Boardworks) took 11th place with a score of 265.60.
In the men’s category, Michael Foisy (Mustang) placed 25th with a total score of 232.00.
“To train with Simone, Aimee, and Jess here was really incredible. The Canadian team is very strong this year. Simone was really impressive. There was a lot of pressure, a lot of people, and she managed to finish eighth. Everyone was on fire,” said Molly Carlson.
The event’s champion also wanted to thank the crowd for their encouragement. “Brave Gang, you really showed your support today! I’m happy to be able to count so many of you and see that the work I’m doing to raise awareness of the importance of taking care of your mental health is going a long way!”
