Escape game: Roseline Filion on why she's done diving and what's next

Twenty years after jumping head first into the sport she loves, two-time Olympic medalist Roseline Filion is retiring from competitive diving.

The Laval, Que., athlete won a bronze medal in the women's 10-metre synchronized platform event at Rio 2016 with diving partner Meaghan Benfeito. The two captured bronze in the same event at London 2012, and also reached the podium together three times at the world championships.

Filion becomes the third high-profile female Canadian Olympian to retire in the past few weeks, joining heptathlete Brianne Theisen-Eaton and hockey star Hayley Wickenheiser.

CBC Sports caught up with Filion shortly after she made her retirement announcement to talk about her career and her transition to operating her own business.

CBC Sports: How are you feeling?

Roseline Filion: I'm feeling really good. It's an emotional day but I'm really excited it's finally out there. I can say it out loud now and I can start something new.

CBC: When did you first start thinking about retiring?

RF: It was right after I opened my new business at the end of the October. It was a project dear to my heart that I told my coach I wanted to accomplish before I came back to train. But when I got back to the water... I couldn't find a goal that was going to push me as hard as in the past. It's just a transfer of motivation now.

CBC: What's the business?
    
RF: It's an Escape Games business. My brother, two cousins and their husbands are huge fans of the concept. One day we just decided we would open our own. We built from scratch. We created our scenarios. We're rolling really well and the business is doing well.

CBC: How is Meaghan dealing with all of this?

RF: Meg is doing well. It's been emotional and difficult. It's a big change for everyone. I think she's happy for me and she still has her goal of going to Tokyo 2020. It was tough to say it out loud to her, but once it was done we were really happy. Our duo might be over in the water but we come as a package. We're always the two together and we'll be friends and sisters for life.

CBC: What was it like when you told her?

RF: I knew she knew. I didn't have to say anything actually. Last Friday it hit us pretty hard. When it was said out loud at [a Diving Canada gala event in Ottawa] she started crying. Jen Abel started crying. I broke down. It broke my heart. The three of us have always been together. It was really intense. We talked a lot about how they felt about it.

CBC: This has been 20 years of your life. How are you feeling about the transition from Olympic sport to the rest of your life?

RF: I never felt trapped by my diving and it's not a sense of freedom to leave the sport. It's just a change of goals and routine. It's to discover who Roseline is without diving. I'm not leaving with a sense of feeling bad. I'm leaving with a smile on my face and pride. I'll always go back to the pool. I'm excited about it and the challenge ahead.

CBC: What do you want Canadians to remember your career by? What stands out?

RF: There are so many memories and moments that are important to me, especially Montreal 2005 when it all began. I was 18 years old for my first world championships. Meg and I won a medal in front of a home crowd. The pinnacle would definitely be Rio. The past four years have been really challenging for me. I worked to become the athlete and the person I've always wanted to be. I had a really tough 2016 with a broken ankle eight months before the Games. I was very insecure about how I was going to perform and if I was even going to make it. I'm really proud about how it went. I want to be remembered as a strong and consistent athlete who worked hard for what she got.

CBC: You're the third high-profile female Canadian Olympian to retire in the past few weeks. Did Brianne and Hayley retiring make it easier for you?

RF: I was watching the news like everyone else and I was telling myself I know exactly how they feel. These women did so well in their sports and left a legacy. People are going to see me again. I really want to work in the media and maybe go back to the Olympics on the other side. I want to say thank you to everyone who supported me through all these years. I've received so many messages today and I'm so touched by it all.