Canadian divers Caeli McKay, Kate Miller finish 4th in 10m synchro

Caeli McKay didn't want to relive the pain of barely missing the podium again.

Unfortunately for the Canadian diver, history repeated itself.

Calgary's McKay and partner Kate Miller of Ottawa placed fourth in the women's 10-metre synchronized event on Wednesday at the Paris Olympics, finishing just over five points away from the bronze.

Three years ago at the Tokyo Games, McKay and partner Meaghan Benfeito were half a point off the podium.

"Fourth place was heartbreaking by point-five, this was five points at least, it wasn't as close. But I can't really say much more," McKay said while holding back tears.

McKay and Miller scored a cumulative 299.22 points over five dives. Chinese duo Chen Yuxi and Quan Hongchan dominated the competition with 359.10 points. North Korea's Jo Jin Mi and Kim Mi Rae came in second (315.90) and Great Britain's Andrea Spendolini Sirieix and Lois Toulson rounded out the podium (304.38).

China won seven of the eight diving gold medals at the Tokyo Games and is 3-for-3 so far in Paris.

McKay and Miller were in third before the final round of dives. The British pair then performed their best dive of the competition, while the Canadians seemed to lack synchronization in their last dive and slipped off the podium.

"I think all of our dives were relatively good," McKay said. "There were no big misses or anything like that. It's just the way that things played out was that the Brits ended up on top."

'I know that we can do way better'

Miller, only 19, could hardly hide her disappointment.

"I'm obviously upset about the outcome of the competition, I know that we can do way better. And we were diving really well," she said. "I didn't really care that I was a lot younger, I wanted to go out there and win a medal."

McKay was hampered by an ankle injury at the Tokyo Games and said her experience since arriving in Paris is completely different.

Unlike three years ago, she's the most experienced diver on Canada's team despite being only 25.

"Last time, I barely was able to even dive, and this one I was able to completely take it in," she said. "I was able to enjoy it. I was able to appreciate being with Kate and experiencing her first Olympics.

"She's one of my best friends, so it's nice to be able to be there together and have another shoulder to cry on together."

10-metre platform event up next

McKay and Miller will be back in action for the individual 10-metre platform event. The preliminaries and semifinals take place on Aug. 5, followed by the final the next day.

They might be a bit better prepared by then. McKay noted it wasn't easy to start their journey in Paris Games with a final. Unlike individual diving events, synchronized events do not have preliminaries or semifinals.

"I can't even explain how hard it is to go into that," she said. "So for prelims I think it'll be nice to have experienced this, have an idea of how the competition rolls, about how the adrenalin is, what the crowd's like, what the judging's like.

"Then just regroup, refocus, and do what we can do on that day."

If she succeeds, McKay might finally experience the joy of an Olympic podium rather than the disappointment of fourth place.

Canada tops China in women's water polo

The Canadian women's water polo team defeated China 12-7 to improve to 1-1 in group play on Wednesday.

Axelle Crevier, Emma Wright, Elyse Lemay-Lavoie and Serena Browne all posted two goals in the match. Marilia Mimides, Hayley McKelvey, Kindred Paul and Shae la Roche added one each.

WATCH l Canadian women's water polo team beats China 12-7:

Canada defeats China for 1st women's water polo victory at Paris 2024

4 months ago

Duration 2:04

The Canadian women's water polo team beats China 12-7 and improves to 1-1 in group play at the Olympic Games Paris 2024.

Canada, which got knocked out in the quarterfinals in Tokyo 2021 against the U.S., lost to Hungary 12-7 on Monday in the opening round.

The Canadian squad will return to the pool on Friday to face Australia before concluding group play on Sunday against the Netherlands.

Canadian men's sabre team falls in fencing quarters

Canada's men's sabre team fell 45-33 in quarterfinal action to top-ranked South Korea at the Paris Olympics on Wednesday.

Fares Arfa of Laval, Que., was bested by Oh Sang-uk in the first relay, with four touches to his opponent's five.

The pair had earlier squared off in the quarterfinals of the men's individual sabre tournament, where Arfa was defeated by Oh, the eventual gold medallist.

Canadian Shaul Gordon won two of his three relays, including a 6-5 win over Oh.

South Korea went on to win team gold with a 45-41 win over Hungary in the championship round, while Canada finished eighth after losing 45-43 to the United States in a placement match.

Canada, featuring bronze medallist Eleanor Harvey of Hamilton, is considered a medal threat in the women's team foil competition that gets underway Thursday.

Triathlon golds issued after Seine water quality concerns

Cassandre Beaugrand of France won the women's Olympic triathlon on Wednesday, making her way through a Seine River that was under scrutiny for its water quality and navigating slick roads that turned the cycling portion into a series of spills.

Beaugrand finished the run on top of the Pont Alexandre III bridge and collapsed to the ground in exhaustion and exhilaration. It was on top of the "Paris 2024" logo, with a home crowd cheering her on. Her time of 1 hour, 54 minutes, 55 seconds edged Julie Derron of Switzerland by six seconds.

Beth Potter of Britain captured bronze while Canada's Emy Legault of L'Île Perrot, Que., was 35th.

In the men's race that started less than an hour after the women finished, Alex Yee of Britain held off Hayden Wilde of New Zealand by six seconds to win gold. Leo Bergere earned another medal for France by taking bronze.

Three-time Olympian Tyler Mislawchuk of Oak Bluff, Man., finished in ninth for his best performance in the Games.

The men's race originally supposed to take place on Tuesday but was postponed because of elevated levels of bacteria in the water. The organizers said early Wednesday the latest tests of the water showed compliance with quality standards.

Shericka Jackson out of the 100m, will focus on the 200m

Shericka Jackson of Jamaica said Wednesday she will not run in the 100 meters when Olympic track starts, clearing away one of the sprinters who had been expected to give Sha'Carri Richardson her toughest competition in the sport's marquee event.

Jackson did not go into details when she confirmed she would focus only on the 200, which is typically her better event.

The opening round for the women's 100 is Friday at the Stade de France.

Defending champion Elaine Thompson-Herah is not at the Olympics, also dealing with injuries. Another Jamaican, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, is competing in her fifth and final Games. She has two gold medals at 100 meters, in 2008 and 2012.

Richardson is the reigning world champion at 100 meters.

U.S. basketball gets past South Sudan

Jayson Tatum went from not playing to starting. Joel Embiid went from starting to not playing.

The U.S. Olympic basketball team made two lineup changes for its game against South Sudan on Wednesday night, a 103-86 victory. Tatum, who didn't play in the opener of the Paris Games for the Americans, moved into the starting lineup along with Anthony Davis.

Jrue Holiday and Embiid, who started against Serbia in the Olympic opener, were moved to reserve roles for the South Sudan game. And Embiid — a past NBA MVP — didn't get in at all, keeping on his blue warmup pants and top for the entirety of the game.

It's consistent with what coach Steve Kerr said would be his thinking in these Olympics — that matchups and playing combinations would shape his decisions for every game in France. He's said since the team convened for training camp nearly four weeks ago that changes would happen and so far, he's lived up to that prediction."

Tatum is bidding for his second Olympic gold medal, after being on the team that won the title at the Tokyo Games three years ago.

"We won. I was glad to just get back out here and play again today," Tatum said. "There was a lot of chatter over the last few days, but I was in good spirits, had a good attitude about it. It was fine. As a competitor, you want to play."

Dutch beach volleyball player convicted of rape booed again, louder

Dutch beach volleyball player Steven van de Velde, who served time in prison after he was convicted of raping a 12-year-old girl, lost his second straight match at the Paris Olympics and received an even harsher reaction from the crowd on Wednesday than for his first match.

Three days after they made their Olympic debut to some boos — mixed in with cheers from the orange-clad Dutch fans — Van de Velde and Matthew Immers were heartily jeered after a 21-19, 21-16 loss to Chile. There were more boos when Van de Velde played most any shot.

Van de Velde, 29, served 13 months in prison after his 2016 conviction for raping a 12-year-old girl in England. Although victims advocates, lawmakers and fans have called for him to be banned from the Olympics, the IOC has said it was powerless to stop the Netherlands from sending an athlete who qualified in the usual way.

Van de Velde again did not walk through the mix zone to address the media on Wednesday, something typically required of every athlete. When Immers arrived, Dutch press attache Hans Nieuwenburg told reporters, "Sport questions only."

Other Canadian results:

• Jill Moffatt and Jenny Casson failed to qualify for the final in the women's lightweight double sculls rowing event, finishing fifth out of six teams in the first semifinal. The top three in both semis qualified for Final A, while the Canadians are among the teams moving on to Final B, scheduled for Friday at 5:18 a.m. ET.
• In equestrian, Canada's Naïma Moreira Laliberté (Statesman), Chris von Martels (Eclips), and Camille Carier Bergeron (Finnländerin) fell just short of qualifying for the final in the team dressage event, placing one spot shy of advancing with a total score of 203.912. Laliberté, Von Martels and Carier Bergeron were also unable to advance to the individual dressage final.