Four months after she lost her three Olympic medals in a fire that destroyed her apartment, Meaghan Benfeito was reunited with the medals she won at the London 2012 and Rio 2016 Olympic Games on Tuesday at the Olympic Park in Montreal.
“Just the fact that everybody was able to move quickly to get the medals, medals don’t always mean a lot to everybody, but to athletes, it means absolutely everything,” Benfeito said. “Years of hard work, so to be able to receive them today… just talking about it is hard.”
The 32-year-old lost the medals, along with many of her belongings, in a January fire at her Mirabel, QC apartment.
Benfeito received replacement copies of the bronze medals she won in the 10 m synchro event in London and Rio as well as the bronze she won in the 10 m platform event in Rio.
The medals were returned to Benfeito by Eric Myles, Chief Sport Officer at the Canadian Olympic Committee. Myles, along with his team, worked with the International Olympic Committee to have the medals returned to Benfeito.
“Thank you to everybody: the COC, Diving Canada, the Olympic Park and the IOC for moving quickly,” said Benfeito. “Also, my family – you guys mean the world to me, and I wouldn’t be here without you. I wouldn’t be able to push through, not only a difficult year but also there have been a bunch of things thrown at me.”
The Montreal native also received replacement copies of her 2015 and 2007 Pan Am Games medals which were lost in the fire.
Benfeito, who has already qualified for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, will be heading to her fourth Games this summer.
“I will do everything within my capabilities to win two more medals this summer so we can celebrate even more,” she said.
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:
Jeff Feeney
Director, Events and Communications
Diving Plongeon Canada
C: 613-668-9668 | jeff@diving.ca