Silver for Mia Vallée in the 3m springboard
Mia Vallée wasn’t done wowing the crowds at her first ever FINA World Diving Championships in Budapest, Hungary. After winning bronze in the 1m springboard on Wednesday, she went one better Saturday, claiming silver in the 3m event.
“If you would have asked me before the event if I was expecting this, I would have said no, not at all”, exclaimed a giggling Vallée.
Scoring 329.00 points for her five-dive performance, she edged out bronze medallist Chang Yani from China (325,85 points). Chen Yiwen, also from China, claimed gold with 366.90 points. Canadian Margo Erlam, also in action, finished 29th.
After her third dive, Vallée was 5th. Her penultimate dive had her sitting in third place. Her last dive allowed her to climb to the second step of the podium.
“Normally, I hear other diver’s scores during the competition but I have to be honest, I didn’t know that I was in the top three. I actually thought I was either fifth or sixth », she explained.
The 21-year-old-diver only realized something special was going on when she got out of the pool after her last dive. Her family and friends were jumping for joy in the stands. Thinking the podium was out of reach for her, she had no idea what was going on.
“It’s pretty funny but I had no idea why they were so happy. One of my teammates came over to hug me and I still didn’t get it. It’s when Mitch Geller, my coach, came to congratulate me and told me we would have to stay at the pool a little later than planned because of the medal ceremony that I lifted my head to see the scoreboard”, recounted the athlete, hailing from Kirkland, Quebec.
“I saw that I came in second and I couldn’t get over it. I think my jaw dropped, for real!”, added Vallée.
Even back at the hotel, her second Worlds medal dangling from her neck, she still couldn’t quite grasp that she had been standing on the second step of the podium.
However, she will have to get back to business shortly, as she teams up with Margo Erlam in the 3m synchro on Sunday.
“It’s been a pretty intense week, emotionally. I don’t have a ton of time to get my head into the synchronized event but normally, I don’t have too much trouble compartmentalizing. It should be okay. I am really looking forward to competing with Margo. We’re going to have fun”, she predicts.
Rylan Wiens and Nathan Zsombor-Murray qualify for the 10m final
After their bronze-winning turn in the 10m synchro, Rylan Wiens and Nathan Zsombor-Murray have both qualified for the men’s 10m platform event.
Nathan Zsombor-Murray finished 8th in the semi-final with 421.50 points after six rotations. Rylan Wiens finished 9th with 419.25 points. The top 12 divers qualify for the final.
Both men will dive in Sunday’s final hoping to add a second medal to their Budapest haul.
For complete results: https://www.fina.org/competitions/2902/19th-fina-world-championships-budapest-2022/results?disciplines=DV&event=30b61a30-9e53-44fb-97c3-4de2958e2265
A detailed schedule of events is also available on the FINA website.