Canada's Fab IV divers hope to (not) make a splash in Rio
Get caught up quickly on the key storylines
By Jesse Campigotto, CBC Sports
Here's a quick guide to what, when and who to watch in the diving events at the Rio Olympics.
The Fab IV
Canada is sending seven divers to Rio to compete in six of the eight events. With apologies to the men — Maxim Bouchard, Philippe Gagne and Vincent Riendeau all rank outside the world's top eight in their respective disciplines — the country's real medal hopes rest with the so-called "Fab IV" women. Jennifer Abel, Meaghan Benfeito, Roseline Filion and Pamela Ware — all decorated, all from Quebec — harbour legitimate podium aspirations.
Abel, 24, won bronze in the synchronized three-metre springboard event at the 2012 London Olympics with Emilie Heymans, who's now retired, and she remains a contender with current partner Ware, 23. Together, they reached the podium at each of the last two world championships.
Abel and Ware will turn rivals in the individual three-metre competition — they're ranked fourth and sixth in the world, respectively, and both own a world championship bronze in the event. Against weaker competition at last summer's Pan Am Games in Toronto, Abel outdueled her partner to win gold while Ware took the silver.
Filion, 29, and Benfeito, 27, won Olympic bronze together in the synchro 10m platform event in London, and went on to take silver at the two most recent world championships. Both are also entered in the individual version of the event, but neither has reached the podium solo at an Olympics or worlds.
The red menace
Since 2004, one country has ruled Olympic diving with an iron Speedo. In that span, 24 gold medals have been awarded in the sport, and China has won 19 of them. That dominance is likely to continue in Rio as China rolls in with the world's top-ranked entry in all eight events.
The betting markets favour China to sweep the gold medals — particularly in the synchro competitions, where bookmaker Pinnacle's odds imply that China has no worse than an 80 per cent chance of winning in each of the four events.
Men's 10-metre master Qiu Bo will be looking to add the missing jewel to his crown. The winner of the last three world titles had to settle for silver at the 2012 Olympics in London, where he was upset by American David Boudia.
On the women's side, reigning world champ Shi Tingmao has a good shot to pull off a double by winning the women's 3m springboard individual and synchronized (with Wu Minxia) events.
Key events
Medals will be awarded beginning on Day 2, with the last up for grabs on Day 15, the penultimate day of the Games.
If you're looking to see a Canadian land on the podium, your best bets are in the women's 3m synchro final on Sunday, Aug. 7 (3 p.m. ET), the women's 10m synchro final on Tuesday, Aug. 9 (3 p.m. ET) and the women's 3m individual final on Sunday, Aug. 14 (3 p.m. ET).
For a full schedule, click here.