Canada ends Windsor World Series stop with four medals
Feature photo: Jennifer Abel (Vaughn Ridley/Diving Canada)
Canada ended its home stop of the FINA Diving World Series on Sunday with one more medal, finishing with a total of four for the weekend in Windsor, Ontario.
The lone medal of the final day arrived in mixed 10m synchro, a silver behind China for Meaghan Benfeito and Vincent Riendeau. The mixed gender (one male, one female) event is a relatively new discipline in FINA-sanctioned diving. As only three nations fielded a team in Windsor, Canada was guaranteed a medal, but competition can often get fierce. At the previous World Series event six nations entered a mixed 10m synchro team in London, where Canada finished fifth.
Meaghan Benfeito and Vincent Riendeau with their mixed 10m synchro World Series silver medal in Windsor on May 24, 2015.
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Sunday marked the first time less than four nations were entered in the mixed 10m syncrho during the 2015 World Series. Canada has finished second in four of the five competitions.
The day also ended a streak for Canadian divers in the women’s 10m individual event. Canada took gold in this discipline in London and Kazan at the two previous stops. But Ren Qian of China ruled the day in Windsor, with Roseline Filion – the London gold medallist – in fifth place.
The final World Series stop is next weekend in Merida, Mexico.
Saturday
Jennifer Abel waves to the crowd after one of her dives at the FINA Diving World Series 2015 stop in Windsor, Ontario on May 23, 2015 (Photo: Diving Canada).
The second day of FINA Diving World Series in Windsor brought Canada its third bronze medal of the competition by way of Jennifer Abel.
A day after winning hardware of the same colour in the synchro, Abel repeated the feat in the individual 3m springboard with a total of 359.60 points. With He Zi of China opening up a lead from the first two dives, Abel went toe-to-toe with another Chinese competitor, Wang Han. Going into the fifth set of dives, Abel was slightly ahead of Wang, but the visiting diver emerged with the silver with a total of 363.60. The winning score for He was 378.90.
Canada was kept out of the medals in the 3m mixed synchro by just 0.69 points. A new British team of Alicia Blagg and crowd-favourite Tom Daley edged Abel and Francois Imbeau-Dulac to take the bronze medal for themselves behind China in first and Mexico.
Competition continues on Sunday with the 10m individual, where Canadian female divers won the last two World Series gold medals this season.
Friday
Canadian divers started their home World Series stop with a pair of bronze medals Friday in Windsor, Ontario’s International Aquatic and Training Centre.
The fifth of six FINA World Series cities, Windsor allows Canadian fans a chance to see some of the planet’s top divers, including Diving Canada’s own Fab IV, at home. As a bonus on Friday, Canada’s four premier divers all found their way to the podium.
Pamela Ware & Jennifer Abel win World Series bronze in Windsor on May 22, 2015 (Photo: Diving Canada).
Jennifer Abel and Pamela Ware were first to the medals for Canada. The women’s 3m synchro specialists finished third with 288.81 points behind He Zi and Wang Han of China (316.80 points) and Australian duo Esther Qin and Samantha Mills (302.10).
The second Canadian medal arrived in the women’s 10m platform, where Meaghan Benfeito and Roseline Filion were involved in a three-way fight against Chinese and British divers. At one point or another stage of the competition each of the three countries had the lead, but China’s Si Yajie and Lian Jie held it toward the end with 327.90 points. Britain’s Tonia Couch and Sarah Barrow were second less than two points behind with 325.92 and the Canadians, 10.62 off the top were third with 317.28.
China took first place in all four events on Friday, including the men’s 3m and 10m synchro to go with their wins in the two women’s competitions. Canadian men were fifth in the 3m synchro and sixth in the 10m event.
