Diving Canada – Today was a dream come true for Jennifer Abel.

But as is often the case, it didn’t come to pass how she imagined. 

“I was expecting to be more excited but I was still in the zone when I realized that I was winning,” said the Canadian Olympian, moments after capturing her first career individual FINA Diving World Series gold medal, in the women’s 3m springboard, on the final day in Kazan, Russia.

“The way I reacted was not the way I was expecting when I was imagining myself winning,” said the 27 year-old from Laval, Que. 

Abel commanded the field with 330.60 points, exactly 27 points ahead of Lin Shan, and 28.40 points beyond Chang Yani, both of China.

It was a remarkable turnaround for Abel, who was unhappy with her preliminary performance.

“I was just trying too much while it was not necessary and I was not focused on the right thing at the right moment, I was thinking too much about everything instead of just doing my dives,” said Abel.

The veteran said she managed to calm herself down and refocus at the hotel between prelims and the final.

And it’s not just a first title that Abel secured, she believes a valuable skill-set was honed, “Today I really learned how to take my time and breathe before leaving the board, so that’s what worked for me today.”

Earlier in the day Montreal’s Pamela Ware was fourth-place in semifinal B with 286.55 points and did not advance to the final. 

To close out the competition, Abel and teammate François Imbeau-Dulac were fourth in the mixed 3m synchro springboard with 300.27 points, while Domonic Bedggood and Maddison Keeney of Australia were triumphant with 318.12 points. 

The senior national team will now prepare for the final Diving World Series of the season, coming up May 17 to 19 in London, England. 

Full results can be found here: http://omegatiming.com/Competition?id=0001130003FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF&sport=AQ&year=

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For more information:

 

Maëlle Dancause

Manager, Public Relations

Diving Plongeon Canada

C: 514-475-4540 | maelle@diving.ca