Montréal, February 21, 2025 – Quebec’s Sam McCaffrey was unstoppable at last weekend’s Ontario Spring Provincial Championships, which also served as the Junior Trials.
McCaffrey, representing the Pointe-Claire Diving Club, captured the gold medal in Thursday’s 3m springboard event with a final score of 591.10, 45 points ahead of his nearest competitor, Arnaud Corbeil (545.90).
McCaffrey’s Pointe-Claire teammate Blessing Roche finished third with 532.85 points.
On Friday, McCaffrey followed up with a second gold medal in the 1m springboard event, thanks to a score of 554.55. The podium featured the same three competitors as in the former event, except that this time, Roche finished second (522.55) and Corbeil placed third (511.15).
McCaffrey and Roche thus qualified for the International Youth Diving Meet in Dresden, Germany, which will be held from April 23-27.
“The Junior Trials were a great opportunity for me to prove myself alongside the country’s other top divers in my age group. I love competing in Canada because everyone is so supportive of each other. It’s a great way to build relationships, even though we’re competing against each other,” said McCaffrey, following his wins.
In the platform event, Quebec’s Dean Calfacacos took the top spot with 535.15 points. He was accompanied on the podium by Kash Tarasoff of Saskatoon (530.60) and Samuel Talbot of Montréal (523.45). All three will compete in Dresden in April.
Calgary’s Chase Shaw also qualified for Dresden, thanks to his three Group B wins in Scarborough.
On the women’s side, Lila Stewart kicked off the season with a gold medal in the 3m springboard event. During the finals, no one even got near the athlete from Regina, who finished with 537.55 points.
“This week, there were both highs and lows. My training sessions didn’t go as well as I would have liked, but I’m proud to have overcome that challenge and to have shown everyone what I’m capable of. There are a lot of excellent athletes in Canada, and that always makes me want to push myself even further,” said Stewart.
She was accompanied on the podium by Ella Lindsay (478.90) and Alexa Fung (472.25), respectively second and third.
On the platform, Quebec’s Mathilde Laberge (382.05) came out ahead of Ella Lindsay (354.30), who captured a second silver medal in Scarborough. Livia Mckibbin (348.35 points) completed the podium.
Stewart and Lindsay will compete in Dresden, as will Group B’s Daniela Durevska. Durevska won the 3m gold, the 1m silver, and the platform bronze in Scarborough.
The Ontario Spring Provincial Championships and Junior National Team Trials would not have been possible without the support of the Government of Canada and the Government of Ontario.
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More information :
Alexandra Piché
Manager, Communications
Diving Canada
C: 514 625-5513
alexandra@diving.ca