April 25, 2025 – After a tough first day of competition on Thursday, Blessing Roche bounced back and climbed to 4th place in the Boys A 1m event on Friday in Dresden, Germany.
The Pointe-Claire athlete, who now trains at the Canadian Diving Institute in Montreal, earned a score of 437.85.
“My performance was really good. I was really happy with how I dove. I feel like I managed to stay consistent all the way through. My reverse dive was a bit shaky, but I came back strong with my inward and back dives, so overall I’m really happy with my day,” he commented.
After the preliminaries, the 18-year-old athlete was sitting in 9th place. He managed to climb five spots in the final.
“What I’m most proud of is that I didn’t let the prelims affect me. Even though I was really tired in the final, I managed to deliver my best performance and give 100%,” he explained.
“My goal for the final was to deliver a performance I’d be proud of afterward. I think I achieved that because all my dives were really consistent. There’s nothing I’d want to change about the final, because everything I did was better than in prelims,” the diver analyzed.
Also competing in this event, Sam McCaffrey (Pointe-Claire) placed 10th with a score of 402.85.
“I was a bit disappointed right after the event, but thinking back on my performance, I think I have a lot to learn from the day. I underperformed on a few of my dives, but I think what I’ll remember most is my ability to come back from prelims,” said McCaffrey, who had also ranked 10th in the prelims.
“I managed to stay focused and keep my cool. I didn’t let one bad dive dictate how the rest of the competition would go,” McCaffrey explained.
McCaffrey and Roche will return to the 3m springboard for the synchronized event on Saturday.
“I’m a bit nervous, but at the same time we’ve trained and it went well, so I have high hopes for this competition,” said Roche. In the Boys B 3m event, Chase Shaw finished 6th.
“My performance was pretty good, but the competition was really tough. At the end of the day, I think that’s why I finished in 6th. I’m really proud of my 205C (back 2 ½ tuck) and my 305C (reverse 2 ½ tuck), for ripping them in competition. My goal was to make the final and I did that,” said the Calgary athlete.
Daniela Durevska took part in the Girls B platform event, where she placed 7th with a total score of 267.55 points.
The competition continues Saturday with the Girls A 1m, Girls B 3m, Boys B platform, and Boys synchronized 3m events.
About Diving Canada
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. 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 www.diving.ca.
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Information:
Alexandra Piché
Communication manager
(514) 625-5513
alexandra@diving.ca