Montréal, April 12, 2025 – Canadians Sonya Palkhivala and Amélie-Laura Jasmin stunned the crowd on Saturday at the Diving World Cup in Windsor, clinching the silver medal in the synchronized 3m event. The two 20-year-olds, who were competing as a team for the first time at a World Cup, finished the day with 276.30 points.
China’s Yiwen Chen and Yani Chang (312.54) won gold and Australia’s Maddison Keeney and Alysha Koloi (275.40) captured bronze on a day that also saw Canadians Matt Cullen and Benjamin Tessier secure third place in the men’s synchronized 10m competition.
Palkhivala, of Pointe-Claire, Quebec, was incredulous when she saw the final standings. She knew the competition had been going well for her team, but had no idea that she and her partner would finish among the medallists.
“Diving together at the World Cup, in front of the home country crowd, we felt a lot of pressure, and we were very, very nervous. Our training didn’t go very well, but we decided to do the best we could with what we had, regardless of the odds. This medal is amazing, and it will definitely boost our confidence,” said Palkhivala.
The other Canadian medal of the day was awarded to Matt Cullen and Benjamin Tessier, who won bronze in the men’s synchronized 10m event. It was the duo’s first World Cup medal, as well.
“It was stressful right up until the end, but we did it!” said a relieved-sounding Tessier. “We’re really happy! We achieved one of our goals. Next time, though, we want to do it without feeling so stressed all the way through.”
Cullen and Tessier boasted a final score of 381.15, just ahead of the German team, who ended the day with 380.04 points. Zifeng Zhu and Zilong Cheng of China (437.25) took top honours. Joshua Hedberg and Carson Tyler of the USA (387.90) captured the silver medal.
At last week’s World Cup stop in Guadalajara, Mexico, Cullen and Tessier, both of Quebec, held provisional third place for a good while before slipping down the standings to finish sixth. According to Cullen, that only served to make today’s medal even sweeter.
“We were determined that this would be the week we would win a medal. It feels great, and we’re really happy!”
In the women’s individual 10m finals, Katelyn Fung (289.30) and Kate Miller (268.15) finished eighth and tenth, respectively.
The Windsor World Cup will come to a close on Sunday. Three of the four competitions will feature Canadian athletes.
Katelyn Fung and Kate Miller will team up for the synchronized 10m finals, Amélie-Laura Jasmin and Mia Vallée will compete in the women’s individual 3m finals, and Matt Cullen and Benjamin Tessier will battle it out in the men’s individual 10m finals.
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More information :
Alexandra Piché
Manager, Communications
Diving Canada
C: 514 625-5513
alexandra@diving.ca