Two Québécois divers earn gold in Regina
Junior Development National Championships
Montréal, July 18, 2026 – Québec’s divers shone during the boy’s finals held Saturday at the Junior Development National Championships in Regina. Raphael Plouffe added another medal to his collection with a win in the Group D 3-Meter final, while Liam Fetto claimed the Canadian championship title in the Category C Platform event.
Raphael Plouffe (Envol) claimed victory first in the 3-Meter final, with a score of 215.80 points. He started the event strong, with a one-and-a-half somersault in pike position that earned him 46.20 points—the highest score of the final. Notably, this was only the second time the 11-year-old athlete had performed this dive in competition.
On his third turn at the board, the Québec diver experienced something of a speedbump when he received his lowest score (25.20), causing him to drop one spot in the standings.
However, Plouffe rallied, refocused, and regained the lead for good on his fifth dive, with his most difficult manoeuvre. His excellent execution of the dive earned him the second-highest score of the final (43.70). Eliott Déry(212.55) and Thomas Lachapelle(195.25) rounded out the podium, making it a trio for the L’Envol Diving Club.
This is Plouffe’s third medal in Regina; he won bronze on Thursday in the 1-meter event, and gold on Friday in the handstand dive.
The young athlete’s mindset is surely a contributing factor to his success, “Even if I mess up a dive, I don’t dwell on it and just focus on the next one,” he commented wisely.
In the Boys’ C Platform final, Liam Fetto (CAMO) claimed the top spot on the podium. Fetto dominated the competition, earning a total of 335.40 points. His closest competitor was Cormac Nys (EKDC) who earned 310.75, followed by Jasper Cunningham-Grav (BDA; 298.05).
“I’m proud – I came here and I wasn’t thinking about getting a medal. I was just thinking about competing and having fun. I was not paying much attention to the competition aspect; I wanted to have a good time, and do it just like was a normal practice,” noted Québécois diver Fetto.
In junior women’s diving action, Nixon Laing (South Surrey/White Rock) earned herself a second Canadian Championship title in Regina, with a score of 349.90 points in the Group C 1m final. The British Columbian also finished at the top of the rankings Thursday in the 3m event.
For Laing, the fight for the top spot on the podium was hard fought; she finally got ahead of Jane Lafreniere(Saskatoon, 347,10) by a mere 2.8 points, while Lexie Cotton Gagnon(ARO, 321,30) earned herself the bronze.
“I feel like I fought really hard in that final to get where I ended up,” commented the gold medal winner. Proud of her performances today, she also noted that they are the result of hard work and training.
In the Girls’ Group C Handstand event, Zara Hisseine (CAMO) took first place, while Charlotte Taylor (iDive) won silver, and Kaila Myrfield-Wolfe(Saskatoon) took bronze.
Sunday is the last day of thrilling diving action at the Lawson Aquatic Centre. Stay tuned to see comes out on top, and who are the potential futures of Canadian diving!
