2019 World Championships – Ten Facts About the Team

Gwangju, July 9, 2019 – The 2019 FINA World Championships, the biggest competition outside of the Olympic Games, begin this week. To get you prepped, here are the top stories from one of the world’s most competitive diving teams.
 
THE ROAD TO TOKYO 2020 BEGINS
 
With one year to go before the 2020 Olympics, each dive at the World Championships will play a major role in the Canadian diving team’s road to Tokyo, as FINA will be awarding quota places to the National Olympic Committees whose athletes finish in the top-12 in the individual events, and the top-3 in the synchronized events.
 
JENNIFER ABEL COULD BREAK A RECORD
 
With a total of eight career World Championship medals, Jennifer Abel is already the most decorated Canadian female athlete at the FINA World Championships, a record number she shares with diver Alexandre Despatie and swimmer Ryan Cochrane. If she steps onto the podium in Gwangju, Abel would set a new Canadian record. After medalling at the last four Worlds, there are few doubts that she will rise to the occasion once again.
 
GAGNÉ & IMBEAU-DULAC ARE STRONGER THAN EVER
 
Going into their third FINA World Championships as a team, Philippe Gagné & François Imbeau-Dulac are in great shape. They have been in the medal hunt all season long and have two international podiums to show for it. The pair is also currently tied with China for the second place in the FINA world ranking on 3m synchro.
 
MEAGHAN BENFEITO IS BACK
 
Despite an impressive season start at the Beijing (CHN) and Sagamihara (JPN) World Series events, Meaghan Benfeito experienced many ups and downs in 2019. Finding herself in a precarious position before the World Championships trials, she had no choice but to offer a performance worthy of an Olympic final in order to make the Canadian team. This is exactly what she did as she pulled-off 387.80 points on platform, nearly replicating her Rio 2016 bronze medal performance of 389.20 points.
 
CAELI MCKAY IN SOLO
 
Based on her partnership with three-time Olympic medallist Meaghan Benfeito, Caeli McKay is no stranger to major international events. But this time will be different, as she will be standing alone on the platform. Her sparkling performances at the Grand Prix in Calgary and National Championships in Windsor earned her two silver medals, and qualification for the 10m individual event at these World Championships.
 
PAMELA WARE HAS A PODIUM TO DEFEND
 
With her bronze medals on 3m at the 2013 World Championships and the 2018 World Cup, Pamela Ware will be one of the top medal contenders in Gwangju. If she lands on the podium, the Rio 2016 Olympian would get closer than ever to her goal of competing at the Tokyo 2020 Games.
 
BRYDEN HATTIE STANDS ON ITS OWN
 
A representative of Boardworks, Victoria’s powerful diving club, Bryden Hattie will make his first appearance in the 10m individual event at the World Championship level. After representing Canada on 10m synchro at the Commonwealth Games and the World Cup in 2018, Hattie now has the opportunity to showcase his abilities in individual.
 
RIENDEAU & ZSOMBOR-MURRAY ARE PROGRESSING
 
Although their partnership is still quite new, Canada’s 10m synchro team, comprised of Vincent Riendeau and Nathan Zsombor-Murray, is very promising. Silver medallists from the 2019 Grand Prix in Calgary, the team has also proven itself at the World Series level by finishing 5th in Beijing and 4th in Montreal.
 
A SPRINGBOARD FOR MÉLISSA CITRINI-BEAULIEU

Well known for her success alongside Jennifer Abel, the 3m synchro specialist will tackle another springboard in South Korea. Before taking part in the women’s 3m synchro event on July 15th, the 24-year-old will test the waters by competing in the 1m individual event. Pamela Ware is the last Canadian diver who took part in this event at the Barcelona 2013 World Championships, where she finished 5th.
 
A NEWCOMER ON THE HIGH DIVING SCENE

A former member of the Canadian diving team, Aimee Harrison isn’t afraid of heights. Training in this discipline since 2018, she made her international debut this season, placing 13th at the High Diving World Cup in Zhaoqing (CHN) and 7th at the Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series in Polignano a Mare (ITA). Her high-diving competitions will take place on July 22nd and 23rd, 2019.
 
Here are Canada’s entries for the 2019 FINA World Championships in Gwangju:

Event schedule can be downloaded here.
 

 *TBC after the technical meeting

Diving Plongeon Canada (DPC) was established in 1967 as a not-for-profit organization to promote the growth and awareness of the sport in this country. As a member of FINA, the world’s governing body of aquatic sports, DPC contributes to the development of globally accepted standards of excellence in diving and supports the rules and regulations of international competition. Representing nine provincial diving associations, 67 local diving clubs and close to 4,000 high-performance athletes, DPC shares a national commitment to advance the art and sport of diving and to position Canada as the number one diving nation of the world. For information, visit diving.ca. 

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