Montréal, April 11, 2025 – Mia Vallée, who reached the 3m springboard finals at last week’s World Cup in Guadalajara, Mexico, repeated the feat on Friday morning, placing eighth in the qualifiers in Windsor, Ontario.
The Québécoise racked up 295.95 points to qualify for Sunday’s finals.
“I’m really happy with my performance. I was feeling a bit under the weather this morning, so I’m not at my best, and I was also a bit stressed because things went really well last week, and I wanted that to be the case again. I did manage to lower my stress levels, so my mind was clear for the competition. I focused on enjoying the moment, and that’s what made the difference,” explained Vallée.
Thanks to her two qualifications for the 3m finals, Vallée is expected to be able to compete at the World Cup Finals in Beijing, China, from May 2-4.
Just like last week, Vallée demonstrated consistency across all her dives. And just like last week, she only made an error on her fourth attempt. However, she was able to mitigate the damage and secure her qualification.
“This year, my goal has been to enjoy myself and be consistent in my dives. I realized that a lot of the time, when I dove well, I became even more stressed because I started worrying about the next one. And when you’re competing in a World Cup, you can’t allow yourself to perform badly. So I’ve been working on my confidence. My fourth dive today was a bit tricky, but it wasn’t a total disaster.”
Also in the 3m springboard qualifications, Amélie-Laura Jasmin finished tenth with 282.50 points, so she too will compete in the finals—a first for her at a World Cup.
“My first dive was pretty weak, but I knew [the competition] was far from over, so I wanted to keep going. And I’m glad I did. I’m really happy about the way things turned out today,” said Jasmin, following the qualification rounds.
China’s Jia Chen (345.90) and Yiwen Chen (338.20) dominated the 3m qualifiers. Australia’s Maddison Keeney finished third (324.80).
Today, Sonya Palkhivala participated in only her second international competition of the past twelve months, back in action after having been sidelined for a year with a knee injury. She finished 18th in the 3m qualifications, with 249.50 points.
Benjamin Tessier and Matt Cullen advance to 10m finals
On the men’s side, Benjamin Tessier and Matt Cullen placed eighth and tenth, respectively, in the 10m platform qualifiers. Both will advance to the finals.
Thanks to his consistency on the platform, Tessier came out of the competition with 392.45 points. His best score of the day was 72.15, which he obtained on his second dive.
“I’m glad to have qualified for my second finals in as many weeks, but I still feel like I could make some improvements. I’m going to rest and recover as much as possible, so that I’m ready for the finals,” said Tessier.
Cullen’s highlight of the day was his second-last dive, which earned him 77.55 points from the judges. He finished the day with a total score of 390.00, so he too will compete in an individual World Cup final for the first time in his career.
“That’s a load off my mind! But I want to do even better in the finals. I’m aiming for the top,” he said, with a smile in his voice.
At the very end of the day, Vallée and Tessier joined forces with Carson Paul and Katelyn Fung for the mixed team event. They took eighth place in the final, which was won by the Chinese team (478.80).
Vallée and Paul performed the best synchronized dive of the competition, earning 63.00 points.
The Mexican (412.70) and Italian (402.45) teams finished second and third, respectively.
The men’s synchronized 10m finals, women’s individual 10m finals, and men’s individual 3m finals will all take place on Saturday.
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More information :
Alexandra Piché
Manager, Communications
Diving Canada
C: 514 625-5513
alexandra@diving.ca