TEAM CANADA DIVING GOLD CLOSES A WINNING WEEKEND
Montréal, August 6, 2023 – Team events are especially popular, given that they frequently provide divers with a chance to have fun in the company of teammates that might not normally be paired together.
Sunday, in the very last event of the Diving World Cup Super Finals in Berlin (Germany), Canadian athletes had even more reason to enjoy the team event, thanks in part to the shiny new gold medals around their necks.
« It’s such an incredible feeling. We’ve been on the road together for five weeks, and it’s a great reward to end it all with the gold medal and to sing the national anthem on top of the podium, it’s really nice, » said Caeli McKay.
Caeli McKay, Bryden Hattie, Pamela Ware, and Nathan Zsombor-Murray combined forces to earn a final score of 395.50. Provisionally fifth after the first two rounds, the Canadians – thanks to efforts by McKay and Zsombor-Murray – took things in hand to propel the country to the top of the podium.
McKay and Zsombor-Murray first scored 66.00 and 70.40, respectively, on their individual dives to put the country in provisional second place with just one dive to go.
The two athletes then stunned the gallery in synchro diving, scoring 72.00 points, taking the country to the top of the podium, a medal that was greatly appreciated by all team members.
« I’m always excited to take part in team events, and I’m so happy with how things turned out. It was a great experience to do a synchro jump with Pamela. I’m very proud of our whole team, » said Bryden Hattie.
« This is a great way to end our weekend, the event went extremely well and we can now go home with another gold medal in our suitcases! » enthused Nathan Zsombor-Murray.
The Canadians were joined on the podium by the Australian Team (390.70 points) and the British Team (387.95 points), second and third respectively.
Zsombor-Murray was also in action in an individual diving event on Sunday, finishing fourth in the 10m platform final. While it may have been a somewhat disappointing result, it is also can be seen as motivating for the future.
« I can’t say I’m super happy with my individual performance. I did some good dives, but that just wasn’t enough to get on the podium. It leaves a bit of a bitter taste. I know I’m not missing much in terms of skill. It’s been a busy month with the World Championships. Overall, I’m proud of myself. Next time, I’ll be on the podium, » he explained.
China’s Hao Yang took top honors with 537.25 points, and was joined on the podium by Ukraine’s Oleksii Sereda (second, 480.45 points) and Britain’s Noah Williams (third, 468.05 points).
Pamela Ware and Mia Vallée reached the final on the 3m springboard earlier in the day. The battle for third place was fierce, and took place between Pamela Ware, China’s Yani Chang and American Sarah Bacon. In the end, it was Chang who came out on top, while Ware finished fourth with 311.05 points.
Mia Vallée had to settle for ninth place with 267.15 points.
The gold medal went to China’s Yiwen Chen (344.15 points), closely followed by Japan’s Sayaka Mikami (342.60 points) in second place.
