Sam McCaffrey, Lila Gokiert and Kash Tarasoff claim gold in Saskatoon!
July 7th, 2024 – Sam McCaffrey changed his approach at the 2024 Speedo Elite Junior Nationals in Saskatoon. More relaxed, the Pointe-Claire diving club athlete had the upper hand in the 1 m springboard Group A final on Saturday to win the gold medal!
“I had a rough time on Friday and wanted to bounce back to regain the right frame of mind,” said McCaffrey after his triumph. He had placed 11th in the 3 m qualifications the day before and was unable to participate in the final.
His consistency made the difference in Saturday’s final, where he amassed 526.70 points.
“I realized how tense I was on Friday and wanted to rectify that. I know that if I calm down, I feel much better, so I listened to music and talked to the people around me. In the final, it was just the dive, the water and me. All I had to do was dive like I’ve been doing for years.”
The strategy certainly paid off as the eventual gold medallist kept his cool and finished strong with his best dive, an inverted double somersault in a tuck position, good for 69.75 points.
As was the case in the 3 m event the day before, Sam Vajerhelabad finished second overall with 508.25 points, but the Iranian’s result does not count towards the Canadian rankings. Emmitt Reesor (TDA, 494.90) and Paul Yang (EKDC, 453.85) took home silver and bronze respectively.
Lila Gokiert wins her second medal
Lila Gokiert also finished the day atop the podium at Saskatoon’s Shaw Centre. The Calgary diver scored 417.55 points in the women’s 3 m final to win Group B.
Alexandra Boisvert (CAMO) and Ella Lindsay (Nepean Ottawa) joined her on the podium, finishing second (389.20) and third (386.55).
“I had a great day! My performance in the final was tremendous. I showed consistency, and even with the fatigue, the adrenaline helped me successfully complete each of my dives,” stated Lila Gokiert. She had also finished first in the qualifying round, a few hours before the final.
“I mostly wanted to focus on myself and what I had to do, not on other people. I knew if I did that, I could do well at the pool.”
This is Gokiert’s second medal since the start of the competition as she won bronze in the Group B platform final on Thursday.
Kash Tarasoff wins on home soil
After finishing second to Claude-Olivier Lisé-Coderre (CAMO) twice in recent days, Kash Tarasoff had the last word on Saturday in the men’s 10 m Group B final.
The Saskatchewan native simply dominated the event, contested in front of a particularly noisy crowd. In fact, his four dives were the four highest scoring of the entire final.
“I’m delighted! I got several 10’s and very high marks. With all the cheering, it was pure happiness,” declared Tarasoff, who could rely on the crowd’s reaction as he entered the water to evaluate his dives.
On his third trip to the platform, the eventual winner scored no less than 96 points for his double back somersault with one and a half twists, launched in balance.
His total of 501.25 points placed him ahead of Lisé-Coderre by 72.2 points. Calgary’s Kingsley Tetzlaff rounded out the podium with 346.75 points.
The 2024 Speedo Junior Elite National Championships conclude on Sunday with three finals. The women’s 3 m Group A and 1 m Group B finals and the men’s Group A final on the platform.
To view all the results, click here.