Montréal, July 19th, 2024 – The Junior Development National Championships kicked off with a bang on Thursday in Regina, Saskatchewan.
Avery Cowan and Lexie Cotton-Gagnon were locked in a fierce battle in the Group D 3-meter final, which was finally won by the Ontarian, who was very proud to savor her first medal of the week.
“Today, my goal was just to make the top-3 in the final and, if I was lucky, finish first”, mentioned the winner shortly after her triumph.
Cowan finished the first day of competition with a total of 195.35 points, while Cotton-Gagnon posted a cumulative score of 194.05 to grab the silver medal. Nixon Laing (192.50 points) joined them on the podium, winning bronze.
In the men’s 1-meter Group D final, Philippe Wadsworth (KGTC) prevailed with an outstanding final dive.
“It feels awesome to have won the gold medal. I had fun in the prelims and had success. In the final, I just listened to my coach’s advice and it continued to go well”, stated Wadsworth.
“I had more dives to execute in the finals and improved on the ones I had missed in the preliminaries.”
The young diver climbed on top of the podium and was joined by Regina’s Hawksley Burnett (203.40 points) and Boardworks’ diving club representative Jasper Cunningham-Grav (190.00 points), who ended the day with silver and bronze respectively.
Still on the men’s side, Calgarian Chase Shaw showed what he was capable of in the Group C 1-metre springboard final.
“During the prelims, I felt comfortable and ready. In the final, I was more nervous, but it turned out great,” he confessed.
His nerves paid off, as he ended up with the gold medal around his neck. “My goal was to finish in the top-3 in the 1-metre event. I didn’t expect to come out on top, so I’m proud of myself.”
Alistair Nisbet (PCDC),who won the “rip” contest later in the day, took second place with 273.50 points while Mano Charron (ENVOL)finished third with 268.50 points.
In the end, it was to the cheers of her beloved public that Regina native Lauren Vickaryous (284.00 points) triumphed in the women’s platform final in Group C.
“I feel really proud and happy to show my home crowd all the effort I’ve put into the pool,” said the diver.
Sara-Jade Tessier (ENVOL) followed closely with 280.30 points and took silver, while Montrealer Élodie Couture (265.10 points) earned bronze.
The Junior Development National Championships resume today with the men’s platform (Group D) and 3 m (Group C) finals, as well as the women’s 1 m Group D final.
More information:
Alexandra Piché
Manager, Communications
Diving Canada
C: 514 625-5513
alexandra@diving.ca