(June 27th, 2022) – Caeli McKay successfully rose to the occasion on Monday. After an eleven-month absence from international competition nursing her left ankle, McKay finished 5^th in the women’s 10m individual event at the FINA World Championships in Budapest, Hungary. 

The judges rewarded her five-dive performance in the final with a cumulative score of 318.45. 

« I’m happy with my result. I obviously wanted to win a medal but my body still isn’t 100% right now and I struggled with my entries”, shared McKay. 

Chinese diver Chen Yuxi won gold with 417.25 points, edging out her countrywoman Quan Hongchan by a mere three tenths of a point (416.95). Pandelela Pamg, from Malaysia, took bronze with 338.85 points. 

In Sunday’s semi-final, McKay earned third spot with a cumulative score of 336.30. She narrowly beat Brazil’s Ingrid Oliveira, who finished 4th with 334.30 points. The two Chinese divers, Chen Yxi and Quan Hongchan, had dominated the event, posting scores of 427,00 and 413,70 respectively. 

In the preliminary round, McKay was sitting in 6^th spot with 320.35 points.  

“I’ve been very consistent all week. I really didn’t know what to expect since this event came up very quickly in this season’s preparation”, added McKay, who celebrated her 23^rd birthday on Saturday.  

Monday was a significant day for McKay. Not only did it signal her return to international competition, it was also the one-year anniversary of the unfortunate training accident from which she has been recovering for the better part of the last year.  

On June 27th 2021, a few days from the opening of the Canadian Olympic Trials, McKay tore several ligaments in her left ankle during dryland training. She was not able to participate in the trials to earn her individual diving spot for the Tokyo Olympics. 

She only dove in the 10m synchro event in Japan, finishing 4^th with her partner Meaghan Benfeito, despite the ankle injury. 

“It’s pretty special that this happens exactly one year after my accident. It’s truly amazing to be back at this level today », McKay shared. 

“The fact that I was competing in an individual event made the day even more special… the last time I dove individually was in May 2021 at the World Cup in Japan”, she explained. 

The individual women’s 10m was her only event at the 2022 World Championships. Despite the fact she would have preferred a podium finish, she draws many positives from the experience as she looks to the future. 

“Generally, I’m really proud of my consistency this week. I am proud of the work I’ve put in and I’m already looking forward to continuing my training for the next World Championships and Olympic Games”. 

Bryden Hattie takes on the springboard  

In the men’s 3m platform, Bryden Hattie did not advance to the semi-finals. Hattie, from Victoria, British-Columbia, finished 22^nd with a six-dive cumulative score of 360.00. Only the top 18 divers move on to the semi-finals.  

These were not the first World Championships for the 20-year-old diver – but they were his first competing in the men’s 3m springboard. In 2019, in Gwangju, he finished 20th in the men’s 10m platform. Since that time, Hattie switched from the platform to springboard. 

“Bryden is really pleased with his consistency throughout the competition. He was able to remain calm. He only made a few very small mistakes, nothing major. He will be able to build on this experience going forward”, explained Mitch Geller, chief technical officer for Diving Canada.  

“It was a great experience for him. He knows he needs to build a little more difficulty into his dive list but he put down a solid performance today and that will give him confidence going into the Commonwealth Games”, added Geller. 

The World Championships continue Tuesday. Rylan Wiens and Nathan Zsombor-Murray will join forces in the men’s 10m synchro event.  

For complete results: https://www.fina.org/competitions/2902/19th-fina-world-championships-budapest-2022/results?disciplines=DV&event=30b61a30-9e53-44fb-97c3-4de2958e2265 

A detailed schedule of events is also available on the FINA website 

About Diving Plongeon 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. 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 in the world.  For information, visit www.diving.ca.  

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For more information : 

Maëlle Dancause
Communications Manager
Diving Plongeon Canada

514-475-4540 |  maelle@diving.ca