Windsor, April 10, 2025 – Canadians Kate Miller and Katelyn Fung thrilled the local crowd on Thursday when they both qualified for the individual 10m platform finals at the World Cup in Windsor, Ontario.
The non-stop cheering of the spectators buoyed the two competitors as they dove their way to top-ten finishes. Only the top twelve athletes advance to the finals, which will be held on Saturday.
Miller placed sixth with a cumulative score of 316.65. She will now endeavour to improve on her eight-place finish at the World Cup in Guadalajara last week.
“I feel good. The preliminary rounds went well. I have a few things to work on, but I made it to the finals, and that’s what counts. I’ll feel more confident in the finals. My goal was to qualify and to be consistent in my dives,” said Miller, who finished 20th at the Paris Olympic Games last summer.
As for Fung, she was keen to put her 21st-place finish at last week’s World Cup in Mexico behind her. She more than succeeded, nabbing ninth place in today’s qualifiers, with 302.45 points.
“My aim was to do well on the dives I’m really good at. I was determined to get back on track after Mexico, and I’m proud to have performed much better here, in front of the home-country crowd! I’m just really happy,” she confided.
Fung’s final dive—her best of the day, worth 76.80 points—was the one that boosted her from provisional fourteenth place to ninth and allowed her to qualify for the first World Cup finals of her career.
“I don’t look at the standings when I’m diving, but I knew I could perform my last dive well. They told me to go hard, so I knew I needed to do really well. I made sure to give it my all,” explained Fung.
Quan Hongchang (404.15) and Chen Yuxi (376.45), both of China, dominated the qualification rounds of the 10m event. Andrea Spendolini Sirieix of Great Britain placed third, with 357.90 points.
An electrifying atmosphere
The Canadian fans were out in full force on day one of the World Cup, much to the delight of the country’s athletes. In addition to Miller and Fung, Victor Povzner and Carson Paul were also in action on Thursday, hoping to qualify for the men’s 3m springboard finals. It was the first World Cup on Canadian soil for both athletes. Neither of them will advance to the finals, however.
Povzner obtained the best result of the two, finishing 21st.
“It was an exciting competition! I’m really happy to be here among the best, and to see these competitors again. There are a lot of faces that I recognize,” said Povzner, who ended the day with 359.15 points.
“I think I could have done better,” he added. “I made a lot of small errors, but no big ones. This season, I had to take a step back and make some adjustments, but I’m hoping the second half of the season goes better.”
This past March, the diver from Maple, Ontario, finished fourth at the 67th International Divers’ Day, held in Germany. The Windsor World Cup is the first senior-level international event he has competed in since 2019.
“The crowd was amazing, and it felt great to hear everyone cheering me on during my dives. I hadn’t experienced that in a while. It really gives us divers a boost!”
Carson Paul, of British Columbia, finished 26th in the qualification rounds, with a total of 321.40 points.
“The crowd was on fire! I could really feel their support during my dives,” he said.
Wang Zongyuan, silver medallist in the 3m springboard event at the Paris Olympics, took the lead with 495.00 points, followed by his compatriot Zheng Jiuyuan, who came in second with 454.30.
The finals will be held on Saturday. Meanwhile, the women’s 3m and men’s 10m qualifiers will take place on Friday, along with the mixed team event.
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More information :
Alexandra Piché
Manager, Communications
Diving Canada
C: 514 625-5513
alexandra@diving.ca