Paul Yang and Benjamin Tessier earn second gold at 2018 Speedo Junior Development Nationals

TORONTO – Paul Yang of Edmonton and Benjamin Tessier of Blainville, Que., each won their second gold medal on Sunday to conclude the 2018 Speedo Junior Development Nationals diving competition.
On the boys 12-13 one-metre, Tessier earned at least 8.0’s on his six of his eight dives in the final and totalled 346.75. Matt Cullen of Blainville was second at 295.50 and Olivier Gauthier of Montreal third at 294.85.
‘’The one-metre is an event we practiced as much as the others in our age group,’’ said Tessier. ‘’I really wanted to do well today.’’
On boys 11 and under three-metre, Yang placed first with 236.25 points, Samuel Talbot of Brossard, Que., was second at 219.40 and Charles Antoine Labadie of Montreal third at 195.30.
‘’I never expected to get two wins here this weekend,’’ said Wang. “I focused more and did the best I could.’’
Julianne Boisvert of Blainville denied Kate Miller of Ottawa a golden weep of all three boards with the victory on girls 12-13 three-metre. Boisvert scored 315.05, Miller was second at 310.80 and Sonya Palkhivala of Pointe-Claire, Que., third at 301.35.
‘’I just took it one dive at a time,’’ said Boisvert. ‘’I knew Kate would be hard to beat but I really wanted to leave here with at least one win.’’
In girls 11 and under platform, Sara Lupa of Burlington, Ont., took the gold with 243.75. Lila Stewart of Regina was second at 229.30 and Alexa Fung of London, Ont., vying for a third gold, took the bronze at 222.65.
‘’I’m really thrilled with the victory,’’ said Lupa, also with two silver this weekend. ‘’I got off to a great start with my first compulsory dive and that gave me a lot of confidence for the rest of the competition.’’
Full results: http://www.issmembership.com/diving/live/schedule.aspx