Montréal, July 18, 2022 – Emmitt Reesor (TDA) was thrilled with the gold medal he won on the closing day of the Junior National Festival at Parc Jean-Drapeau in Montréal. And the Torontonian had a second reason to smile: His training partners Ciro Mejia and Geoffrey Vavitsas were next to him on the podium on Monday, following the Group A platform final.
“It feels amazing to be sharing the podium with my friends Ciro and Geoffrey! We trained really hard, and we need to thank our coach Anna Dacyshyn,” exclaimed Reesor, a few minutes after his win.
The divers had the option of selecting the 5m, 7.5m or 10m platforms, and could change their selections for each dive. Today’s windy and rainy conditions forced the athletes to rethink their strategies and consider their level of risk.
Reesor set the pace early in the competition, earning 72.80 points on his first jump. He remained consistent through his next three dives, finishing the day with a score of 494.30.
“I’m really happy to have done all my dives well. My early scores were really high, and by the end, I think I’d broken one of my personal records on the platform. I’m glad to be finishing the week on a high note,” he added.
Third medal for Nicolas Landry
Nicolas Landry (Revolution), who won the gold medal yesterday on the 3m springboard, concluded the Junior National Festival with an impressive performance in the Group D 1m springboard event on Monday, adding a third medal to his collection, and a second gold.
“I feel really good. I stayed calm all day in order to perform my dives well. I don’t think I could have done any better. It’s been a dream weekend for me. I definitely wasn’t expecting to win three medals here, but I’m proud to have done so!” he said.
The rain began to fall on Monday afternoon, but the young Manitoban was unfazed by Mother Nature’s whims.
“It felt weird to dive in the rain, but it didn’t really bother me. I tried to ignore it and just focus on my dives,” said Landry, who finished the day with a total of 190.80 points.
Gabin Emptoz-Laconte (TDA, 195.40), who is originally from France, shared the second step of the podium with Thomas Lafreniere (Saskatoon, 190.20). Chase Shaw (185.50) of Calgary won bronze.
Sara-Jade Tessier follows brother’s advice
In the women’s Group D 1m springboard event, Sara-Jade Tessier (Envol) emulated Landry by winning her second gold medal in as many days. As she headed into the final, she benefited from advice from her older brother Benjamin Tessier.
“My brother Benjamin told me to get as much height as possible on my dives, since it counts for a lot on the 1m springboard. I did what he said, and it turned out to be good advice because it helped me win gold,” explained Tessier.
Tessier, who won the event with a score of 206.40, was glad to once again have her family in attendance. Her cousins, who were unable to make the trip to today’s final, were able to view her performance from a distance.
“I wanted to impress my family again today. My cousins told me they’d watch through the webcast, and I think I achieve my goal. I’m really glad to have won. It’s been a great weekend.”
Dalia Pereira (Envol, 204.70) and Élodie Couture (Camo, 202.35) rounded out the all-Quebec podium.
Arnaud Corbeil finally samples gold
In his third final of the weekend, Arnaud Corbeil (Camo) finally got a taste of victory in the Group B 3m springboard competition. He took the lead early in the day, finishing with 442.90 points and claiming the top spot on the podium.
“I made a few mistakes this week, and they ended up costing me. I’m really glad to have made it to the top of the podium today,” said Corbeil.
“I’m really happy with my performance. My dives with limit all went well. I wanted to start the day off right, and that gave me confidence for the rest of the competition. I knew I was one of the front runners before my last jump, but anything can happen, so I didn’t want to rely on that.”
Corbeil edged out Blessing Roche (PCDC, 402.05) to win the gold medal. Charles-Antoine Labadie, Corbeil’s teammate at the Camo Club, finished third with 389.50 points.
For the complete schedule, click here.
The 2022 Junior National Diving Festival is presented by Speedo and would not be possible without the generous financial support of our public partners the City of Montréal, Tourisme Montréal, the Government of Quebec and the Government of Canada.
More information :
Maelle Dancause
Manager, Communications
Diving Canada
C: 514-475-4540
maelle@diving.ca