Nathan Zsombor-Murray Fifth in First-Ever 3m Final
Montréal World Cup
Montréal, March 1, 2026 – It took Nathan Zsombor-Murray just one final to make his mark in his new discipline: The Canadian finished fifth in the men’s 3m final on Sunday at the World Cup in Montréal.
The member of the Pointe-Claire club proved today that he is deserving of a spot among the elite of 3m springboard diving, just as he has been part of the elite of the 10m platform in recent years.
Zsombor-Murray, who placed ninth in the qualifiers, stepped up his game in the finals, spurred on by the enthusiastic crowd at the Olympic Stadium. He amassed an impressive 468.05 points to finish in the top five in a highly competitive final.
Four-time Olympic medallist Wang Zongyuan of China captured the gold medal with 540.35 points. His countrymate Zheng Jiuyuan took silver with 495.15, while Colombia’s Luis Felipe Uribe Bermudez nabbed bronze with 486.30.
“I executed six good dives. My goal was to be consistent, so I’m happy with that. It’s always exciting for me to dive in Montréal, in front of my friends and family,” said Zsombor-Murray, who won the synchronized 10m bronze medal at the Paris Olympic Games.
“For me, today’s competition was a chance to learn more about 3m diving and to work on the mental aspect. This experience helped me understand what I need to focus on in my new discipline. And it allowed me to prove to myself that I have what it takes to compete in the 3m,” he said with satisfaction.
A second Canadian also took part in the ninth and final event of the Montréal World Cup on Sunday. Zsombor-Murray was accompanied by British Columbia’s Carson Paul, who surprised everyone on Friday by finishing third in the 3m qualifiers.
In today’s finals, Paul closely tailed his teammate, finishing sixth with 459.20 points—the highest result of his career.
“It was a lot of fun! Diving in front of a Canadian crowd, with everyone cheering you on, always feels great. When you execute a dive particularly well and you hear that roar as you get out of the water—it’s amazing. I’m happy with the way things went, and I’m looking forward to whatever is next.”
“After placing third in the qualification rounds, I was a bit nervous,” he added. “So I’m glad to have managed the situation well and to have performed good dives. This will be good for my confidence. It tells me I belong among the best.”
Two more fifth-place finishes in synchronized diving
Canada also finished fifth in the two synchronized events that were held earlier on Sunday.
In their first competition together, Mia Vallée and Amélie-Laura Jasminsecured the fifth-place spot in the women’s synchronized 3m final on Sunday morning. The newly formed duo, who have only been training together since September, moved into the top five after their third dive, and held on to that position for the remainder of the competition. They finished with 281.70 points.
“It bodes well for the future, but still, we’re a bit disappointed. We wanted to win a medal,” said Vallée. “I’ve done a lot of synchronized diving in my life, and the calibre was very high today. None of the top teams made any mistakes.”
Chen Yiwen and Chen Jia of China captured gold with 329.94 points. They were followed by Alysha Koloi and Maddison Keeney of Australia, who earned the silver medal with a score of 303.42. Lia Yatzil and Mia Zazil Cueva Lobato of Mexico nabbed bronze with 302.16 points.
This weekend’s event was only the beginning for Vallée and Jasmin, who are determined to make an even stronger showing at their next event together.
“We know how to dive together. Synchronized diving is very detail-oriented. Everything has to be precise. You have to jump at the same height, at the same speed . . . Things went well during the competition, under pressure, so what we know now is that we need to focus mainly on our individual dives,” said Vallée, who has been diving with Pamela Ware for the past few years.
“Training together is one thing, but competing together is another. You have to get used to being consistent and competing as a unit. You have to trust each other. I think that if we continue to train, we have good potential,” added Jasmin.
Shortly after the women’s finals, Matt Cullen and Benjamin Tessier made their way to the 10m platform for the men’s synchronized event. The two divers, who had placed eighth and tenth, respectively, in the individual event, finished fifth with a cumulative score of 390.45 points.
After their first four dives in today’s competition, the two Canadians were in the top three. However, they later slipped to fifth place, behind Britain’s Ben Cutmore and Euan McCabe (399.12) and neutral athletes Nikita Schleikher and Ruslan Ternovoi (396.24). China’s Zhao Renjie and Yang Zhihao were crowned champions with a total score of 469.23.
“We were medal contenders until our fifth dive. We really wanted to be on the podium, so we gave it our all. But unfortunately, there was a slight discrepancy in our techniques and we didn’t execute the dive as we had intended,” said Tessier. “Still, we did well, and our scores have improved. It’s disappointing because we know we could do a lot better, but at least we beat our score from last year.”
A personal best for Kate Miller
Earlier in the day, Kate Miller climbed two spots in the women’s 10m platform standings. After finishing ninth in the qualifiers, the Ontarian took seventh place in the finals, with a total of 309.40 points.
“I feel good. I’m glad to have performed well,” said Miller.
As was the case in the preliminary rounds, the reverse three-and-a-half somersault in tuck position she performed as her fourth dive proved challenging once again in the finals. However, the Canadian is focusing on the positives, including the fact that today’s seventh-place finish is the highest individual result she has ever achieved at a World Cup.
“That fourth dive, I’ve been working hard on it. It’s a pretty difficult manoeuvre. It’s frustrating, but I also can’t forget about all my successes in these finals. Overall, I’m satisfied with the way I dove this weekend. I messed up the same dive twice, so I’ll simply have to keep working at it!” explained Miller, who won the bronze medal in the synchronized event on Saturday with Katelyn Fung.
China clinched another one-two finish at this World Cup, thanks to Jiang Linjing (428.10) and Cui Jiaxi (370.40), who took gold and silver in the women’s 10m event. Jo Jin Mi of North Korea completed the podium with 369.30 points.
The Canadian team thus concludes the Montréal World Cup with two bronze medals, earned in the mixed team event and the women’s synchronized 10m event.
