Montréal, July 21st, 2024 – Avery Cowan continued her perfect stint at the Canadian Junior Development Diving Championships in Regina. Already triumphant in the girls’ 3 m and 1 m Group D events, the young athlete added a third gold medal to her name on Saturday with a victory on the platform.
The Ontarian from the Windsor diving club scored 214.70 points to surpass Arie McNaughton (207.60, Regina) and Aurélie Tanguay (200.35, CAMO).
“I feel fantastic! I’m proud to have made it back to the final, and I wanted to have fun,” said the three-time national champion, who also finished first in the preliminary round, before adding that she was especially proud of her carp somersault dive from a handstand position that earned her scores of 8.0 and 8.5.
The gold medallist will be competing in the team event on Sunday, before taking a summer break from training to catch up with her friends and have some fun at the pool.
Saskatchewan’s Hawksley Burnett also claimed his third consecutive podium at the Canadian Championships on Saturday. In the boys’ 3 m Group D event, the Regina diving club athlete emerged victorious with 213.45 points, edging out Jasper Cunningham-Grav (206.50, Boardworks) and Philippe Wadsworth (206.15, KGTC).
“It was a fun final. My dives were consistent, so that helped me win. I wanted to make the final and maybe step on the podium,” commented the young man who surpassed his expectations, having won gold on the platform and silver in the 1 m competition a few days earlier.
In the other final on this penultimate day of competition, Quebecer Sara-Jade Tessier (316.10, Envol) finished first in the girls’ 3 m Group C, ahead of Saskatchewan’s Lauren Vickaryous (303.20, Regina) and Quebec’s Élodie Couture (288.50, CAMO).
In Thursday’s platform event, Vickaryous had topped Tessier on the podium, with Couture also finishing third.
“It didn’t go so well in the prelims when I missed several dives. In the final, after missing my inward dive, I really wanted to land my reverse dive and succeeded. I scored a 9 (for that dive) and I got 8s and 8.5s for my basic dives,” said a happy and relieved Tessier after the event. “I wanted to try and win the medal and do my best,” concluded the young athlete, who will be aiming for a place in Sunday’s 1 m final.
The other finals on Sunday are the boys’ platform C and the team competition.
More information:
Alexandra Piché
Manager, Communications
Diving Canada
C: 514 625-5513
alexandra@diving.ca