Meaghan Benfeito, Roseline Filion dive to gold medal at Grand Prix event
Canadians make statement ahead of 2016 Summer Olympics
Four Canadian women divers made a statement in Rostock, Germany on the weekend that they won’t be pushovers come the 2016 Summer Olympics.
Meaghan Benfeito and Roseline Filion highlighted Sunday’s performance with a gold medal in the 10-metre synchro event at the first stop on the FINA Grand Prix circuit.
The 2012 Olympic bronze medallists won an exciting battle, earning 302.55 points to defeat China’s Lin Jing and Suo Miya (301.56) and Alejandra Estrelia and Karla Rivas of Mexico (294.30).
“Beating the Chinese is the cherry on the sundae for sure,” Filon told reporters. “We had a super … competition and it was a reflection of how our training was going this week.
“We hadn’t competed together since last September so it was important for us to have some success here.”
It was the third Grand Prix title for Benfeito and Filion and first since 2009.
“We really made an impact this weekend,” Filion said. “We showed that our training is going well and that we are making a lot of progress.”
Benfeito and Filion took a five-point lead into the fifth and final round and executed a fine twisting dive for 7.0s and 8.0s to remain on top.
Canada 3rd in 3m synchro
Meanwhile, Lin Qu and Chunting Wu of China were victorious in women’s 3-metre synchro, collecting 305.40 points. Italy’s Tania Cagnotto and Francesca Dellape were second, with Canada’s Jennifer Abel and Pamela Ware finishing third.
Ware continues to recover from a torn oblique (rib cage muscle) that sidelined the Beloeil, Que., athlete for three weeks.
“This was really [a] test to see where I stood after the injury,” said Ware, who finished sixth in Saturday’s 3m final. “It was really encouraging to go out there and not feel any pain.”
Abel earned a bronze medal in the 3-metre final.
On men’s individual 10m tower, Canada’s Vincent Riendeau and Philippe Gagne were eliminated in the semifinals Sunday, placing seventh and 11th, respectively.