TZANETAKIS AND CORBEIL JUNIOR PAN-AMERICAN CHAMPIONS
Montréal, August 26, 2023 – The members of the Canadian delegation to the Pan-American Junior Championships quickly made their presence felt in Lima, Peru. Nikos Tzanetakis won a gold medal in the first individual event on the program, while Arnaud Corbeil followed suit on Saturday afternoon.
Tzanetakis concluded the Group C 10-metre platform final with two excellent dives, finishing the event in first place with a total of 291.55 points.
“It’s amazing to have won the gold medal. However, I don’t think I dove my absolute best. I’m not disappointed, though, because I won gold anyway. I accomplished what I set out to do,” he said.
Tzanetakis also won a bronze medal in the Group C 3-metre springboard event.
As for Corbeil, he already had the Group B 10-metre platform silver medal under his belt when he entered the 3-metre springboard final.
“I feel great. I’m really happy! I earned really good scores for my reverse dives on both the platform and the 3m, and I’m really proud. I got good scores in all my events. Next year, I’m moving into the A category, and I’m looking forward to the challenge,” stated Corbeil, following the competition.
Earlier in the Championships, the Canadian quartet made up of Julianne Boisvert, Lila Stewart, Luc Goertzen and Ciro Mejia placed second in the team competition, with only the Mexicans ahead of them.
Stewart and Boisvert also performed well in their individual events. Stewart won bronze in the Group B 1-metre springboard event, while Boisvert finished third in the Group A platform competition.
“I’m so happy and relieved! It was the first time I attempted my new dives in competition, and I’m really proud of myself,” said Boisvert, who also won a silver medal in the synchronized platform event with Renee Batalla.
“This was my final competition as a junior, and I’m happy to have done well in all my events. Winning my first individual medals at the Pan-American Junior Championships was a nice accomplishment,” she added.
In the Group B platform competition, Lila Gokiert won the silver medal with 285.95 points. The battle for silver between Gokiert, Callie Nicole Fox of the USA and Mendoza Mildred of Mexico was a tight one, but Gokiert saved her best for last, earning 58.80 points on her final plunge and edging out her closest competitors.
“I’m pretty surprised to have won the silver medal here at the Pan-American Championships. My plan was just to focus on my dives and try to avoid errors, and that seems to have worked out pretty well,” she explained.
In the days since the opening of the Pan-American Championships, several other Canadians have stepped onto the podium:
Chris Booler and Olivier Gauthier, silver medal, 3-metre synchronized (open)
Claude-Olivier Lisé-Coderre, bronze medal, Group B 1-metre
Ciro Mejia and Geoffrey Vavitsas, bronze medal, 10-metre synchronized (open)
Laurence Labadie, bronze medal, Group C 10-metre
Olivier Gauthier, bronze medal, Group A 1-metre
