Canadian divers, Philippe Gagne, Francois Imbeau-Dulac qualify for FINA World Cup
Finish 1-2 in 3-metre event at Winter Nationals
Philippe Gagné of Montreal and François Imbeau-Dulac of St-Lazare, Que. qualified for the FINA World Cup in February finishing 1-2 on three-metre Friday at the Winter Nationals diving competition at the Shaw Centre in Saskatoon.
Gagné totalled 468.30 points for the victory with Imbeau-Dulac scoring 444.25. The FINA World Cup scheduled for Rio will also be an Olympic qualifying event for the Rio Games in August. Jamie Bissett of Ottawa was third.
''The first competition of a new season is always stressful,'' said Gagné, 18, with his first senior national three-metre crown. ''I have a new dive on my list [reverse three and half] which I executed well in the final and earned me the most points.''
In the women's one-metre competition, Caeli McKay of Calgary defended her national title with 281.65 points. Eloise Bélanger of Montreal was second at 273.50 and Mélissa Citrini-Beaulieu of Montreal third at 260.80
''I was consistent so I was happy with my performance,'' said McKay, 16. ''The one-metre is not an Olympic event but it is still an important part of our training in particular for three-metre.''
With files from Dive Canada