Diving – Abel shakes off slow start by nailing third and fourth dives

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL, August 13, 2016 – Jennifer Abel (Laval, QC) maintained confidence through a rough start, and placed third in the Olympic women’s three-metre semifinal on Saturday.

At the Maria Lenk Aquatics Centre, the 24-year-old Abel locked in a prime spot in the dive order for the Olympic final by scoring 343.45 points in the semi, trailing only the Chinese 1-2 punch of Tingmao Shi (385.00) and Zi He (364.05). Abel will go 10^th of 12 divers in the final on Sunday at 3 p.m. EDT. Teammate and synchro partner Pamela Ware (Greenfield Park, QC) showed her steely will by scoring 318.25 to qualify ninth and move on to her first Olympic singles final. Ware, 23, will be fourth in Sunday’s order.

Abel and Ware were 11^th and 16^th after compulsory dives. Abel summoned all her strength on her next two dives. In the third round, she delivered a 79.05-scoring forward 3½ somersaults. Next time up, Abel topped that with a 79.90 for her forward 2½ somersaults double twist. Only one other performer in Rio is attempting a dive with 3.4 degree of difficulty.

“There’s a reason my dives are in that particular order – I keep the best for last,” said Abel, who is seeking her second Olympic medal. “So I wasn’t worried after my two first dives and did not even look at the scoreboard.”

“I know what I have to do for tomorrow’s final,” Abel added. “I can’t wait for it.”

Abel was sixth in 3m at the 2012 Olympics and 13^th in 2008, when she was only 16 years old.

As pressure to earn every point mounted, the 23-year-old Ware was consistent, topping her total from her previous effort on her third, fourth, and fifth dives. Ware produced a 67.50-scoring reverse 2½ in the fourth. Ware got excellent height off the springboard on her closing forward 2½ somersaults single twist, which contributed to earning a 69.00 score.

“I was a bit tense before the competition, but my coach told me to stop overthinking and just dive like I’m used to,” Ware said.

Sunday will mark the third time in four Olympics that Canada has had two 3m finalists. China (all four), Australia and the United States are the only other nations with that distinction.

Canada has two Olympic medals in women’s 3m: gold by Sylvie Bernier in 1984 and bronze by Annie Pelletier in 1996.

Complete results:
https://www.rio2016.com/en/diving-womens-3m-springboard-semifinal