FINA diving World Series event in Kazan provides last chance for Canadian divers
Final Olympic qualifying event could shape Rio contingent
Canadian divers are in Kazan, Russia, this weekend at the final FINA World Series event of the season – which also doubles as the final competition of Olympic qualification.
While divers like Jennifer Abel, Pamela Ware, and Meaghan Benfeito have solidified their individual qualifications, many more spots remain in the balance at this weekend's event.
Roseline Filion has made some of the biggest noise with a win in the 10-metre platform at the Gatineau Grand Prix followed by a silver medal performance at the Windsor World Series.
Those performances have occurred in the absence of Celina Toth, with whom Filion is battling with for the final individual 10m platform Olympic qualifying spot. Toth will not be competing in Kazan.
Vincent Riendeau, 19, didn't earn a medal in last weekend's event but he was able to attain the highest point total by a Canadian in the past 10 years. His semifinal score of 508.45 was the best round of his career and gives more incentive for his selection to an individual 10m platform spot on the Olympic team. Maxim Bouchard will have one last chance to show that he is deserving of that final spot.
Three-metre synchro partners Francois Imbeau-Dulac, of Saint-Lazare, Que., and Montreal's Philippe Gagne were fourth and sixth in their semifinals respectively in Windsor. They remain neck-and-neck for the final 3m springboard spot.
Top scores too close to decipher for a qualifying spot will be decided at the Olympic trials on June 11-12 in Scarborough, Ont.