Jennifer Abel (Laval, QC) won gold in the women’s 3M springboard event and added a second gold medal along with teammate François Imbeau-Dulac (St-Lazare, QC) in the mixed 3m synchro springboard event on Sunday, the final day of the competition at the FINA/CNSG Diving World Series event in Montreal.
Abel took gold after leading for much of the women’s 3m springboard event at the Olympic Sports Centre. The 28-year-old was able to recover from a tough second dive, which dropped her to fourth and scored a cumulative score of 363.00 points.
“The second dive is the one that I always hesitate a little bit on, that’s why it’s in the second spot,” Abel said. “Once it’s over, I know I can put the pedal to the metal and go get lots of points. This morning was a little tougher for me. I am really happy to have been able to deal with it, put it behind me and come back strong for the final.”
Mariia Poliakova of Russia took silver with 320.25 points and Anabelle Smith of Australia finished third with a combined score of 317.25 points.
Abel was also confident she could overcome her semifinal result where she scored 273.95 and finished third.
“I had no doubts. I was able to put it behind me,” said Abel. “Like I’ve been saying in the last few days, I’ve really been working on technical points that will get me closer to my objectives and become the best diver I can be. Today, I really wanted to work on those, maybe risk missing a little but I knew that in the afternoon, I’d be more awake, more warmed up. And that’s what happened.”
Pamela Ware (Montreal, QC), who was first after the 3m springboard semifinal, finished fifth with a combined score of 311.55.
On the men’s side, Vincent Riendeau (Beaconsfield, QC) just missed the podium in the 10m platform event scoring 439.75 points, finishing 28.35 points behind Russia’s Aleksandr Bodnar who won bronze.
“I had a small miss on my last dive, it’s a new dive for me,” said Riendeau. “There was more adrenaline than usual, I finished a little higher so I missed my entry. I’ll have to work on that for the next World Series, where there’s a little bit more adrenaline during that dive.”
Abel
and Imbeau-Dulac concluded the festivities in Montreal leading
wire-to-wire in the mixed 3m synchro springboard event compiling a
combined score of 314.52 points.
“I am so happy to have been able to perform like this, I really don’t think I could have done any better,” said Abel. “I am even happier to have won three gold medals at home, in front of my family, and really show them what I am capable of doing.”
Thomas Daley and Grace Reid of Great Britain finished second with 309.57 points and
Mexico’s Osmar Olvera Ibarra and Dolores Hernandez Monzon took bronze with a combined score of 283.20.
“Tonight’s gold medal was a great way for me to change the script of the last two days and to finish on a high note,” Imbeau-Dulac said. “We had very little time to train together but we knew we simply had to have faith in each other and we’d finish with a smile on our faces.”
Canada finished this first stop of the World Series circuit with 8 medals including 6 gold and 2 bronze. Finishing first in the medal standings ahead of Russia and Great Britain.
Up next for Canada’s top divers on the FINA/CNSG Diving World Series circuit is a stop in Kazan, Russia (March 20-22).
Last season, Canada won 16 medals on the FINA/CNSG Diving World Series, including 9 bronze, 6 silver, and 1 gold. Since 2007, the FINA Diving World Series has been the premier international circuit for diving with stops in different cities around the world. In 2020, the Diving World Series is featured in Montreal (CAN) Kazan (RUS) and London (GBR).
Full results can be found here: https://www.omegatiming.com/2020/fina-cnsg-diving-world-series-montreal-live-results
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For more information:
Maëlle Dancause
Manager, Public Relations
Diving Plongeon Canada
C: 514-475-4540 | maelle@diving.ca