Montréal, December 9, 2023 – Divers put on quite a show in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, as five were crowned Canadian champions in their respective categories at the first-ever Canamex High Diving Challenge!

Presented by Diving Canada in partnership with USA Diving, the event served as the Canadian Championships, and as a qualifier for the World Championships (set to be held in Qatar in February). Athletes from Canada, the United States, and Mexico competed in the event.

Fifth in the Senior category, François Imbeau-Dulac was the best Canadian in that class with 347.93 points. On his last run he stood out, scoring 111.93 points, much to the delight of the crowd who cheered his efforts as he exited the water.

“I’m so relieved! I didn’t have high expectations since I don’t have difficult dives, but I knew it was possible to qualify for Worlds if I showed consistency, which I managed to do,” said the diver who competed in the 3m event at the London 2012 Olympics.

“I’m a little disappointed with my third dive, but so proud of my last one! It was only the second time I’d ever done it on the 27m platform! I’m very proud of myself and I’m going to concentrate on more difficult dives in preparation for the World Championships.”

James Lichtenstein took gold with a total of 448.83 points. David Colturi took silver with 403.74 points, followed by Antonio Corzo (381.38) who earned the bronze.

Also in action in the category, Quebec’s Charles-Antoine Labadie (who’s only just 16), posted the second-best Canadian performance, finishing 6th (340.49). For his part, Frédéric Gagné had a more difficult day on Friday in the first two heats. However, he came back strong on Saturday with some of his best dives ever. He finished 10th (295.64) in the final rankings.

Michael Foisy, the only Canadian in the men’s event at the last World Championships, was unable to compete due to injury.

In the Senior women’s category, Molly Carlson took the top step on the podium in sunny Florida. The diver edged out teammate Jessica Macaulay, who was the silver medallist with 313.60 points. Ellie Smart completed the podium with her 301.10 points.

“I’m surprised that the off-season paid off so well! My first three dives earned me scores of 9.5 and 10. I’ll work a bit more on the last one, but overall, I’m really proud of my performance,” said Carlson, who was a silver medallist at Worlds last July. Of note, she’s now confirmed her place at this winter’s Worlds in Doha.

Simone Leathead earned 281.34 points and finished 5th on Saturday – a performance which enabled her to qualify for the World Championships alongside her two fellow medallists. Aime Harrison came 7th with 243.46 points.

Gold for Tiaglei, Bernastsky and Tessier

With a total of 346.85 points after four rounds of competition, Alex Tiaglei triumphed in the Men’s Junior category, which put a smile on his face at the end of the day.

“We took part in a preparatory camp here a few weeks ago. I came back from that with another dive – the one that I ended my competition with – and it went really well. I feel great, especially after that last dive which gave me the win!” said Tiaglei.

Zita Bernastsky took gold after amassing 278.30 points.

“Overall, I’m really happy with my performance at this first Canamex High Diving Challenge! I put a lot of effort into every element of my dives. To have the opportunity to come here and present them at this high-level competition, to perform the way I did, I feel that all the work done at home has paid off,” Bernastsky emphasized, very proud of her performance.

Kelly-Ann Tessier took gold in the Women’s Development category with 261.23 points. Her brilliant maneuvers put her ahead of Fiona Keilly and Ella Sanscartier, who scored 185.07 and 185.00 points respectively.

“My favourite moment was seeing everyone’s reaction after my last dive, the feeling of having reached my goal, it was great!” shared Tessier, who was competing outdoors for the first time. “I really enjoyed it! Now I’d like to gain some confidence and improve the degrees of difficulty. There’s still room for improvement, but I’m really happy with what I’ve achieved.”

An all-round success

The first Canamex High-Flying Challenge has been a resounding success in Fort Lauderdale.

“It was such a great event! We weren’t expecting to have a competition in December, and we found out about it at the last minute. Three countries joined together for it, and it was really a great atmosphere,” said gold medallist Molly Carlson. “It was really exciting to be here and to have the opportunity to qualify for Worlds. It was wonderful to see the whole Canadian team in action and I’m really proud of everyone!”

Some forty athletes took part in the two-day competition, and all agreed that a second edition should definitely be in the cards for next year.

“We can see that the sport is growing and that the calibre is improving. By having a competition like this, athletes can see how they measure up, and encourage each other to do better,” says Olivier Morneau, head of Diving Canada’s high dive program. “It’s great to see them competing for spots on the national team. The stands were packed! For a first edition, it’s incredible! We’ll be back for sure.”

Diving Canada’s Chief Technical Officer Mitch Geller agreed with his colleague on the subject, and gave an equally positive assessment.

“It’s a great example of how we can set up a competition accessible to international athletes, in collaboration with other federations. Working with USA Diving went really well, we all worked quickly and then we had over 40 entries! The quality of the dives was very high. It bodes well for the future of our sport when we can succeed in creating these kinds of opportunities for our athletes.”

In February, Frédéric Gagné, François Imbeau-Dulac, Molly Carlson, Jessica Macaulay, and Simone Leathead will represent Canada at the World Aquatics Championships in Doha, Qatar. In the meantime, they’ll return to Fort Lauderdale in January for training.

For all the amazing results from the Canamex High-Flying Challenge, click here.

More information :

Alexandra Piché
Manager, Communications
Diving Canada
C: 514 625-5513
alexandra@diving.ca