Canada's Benfeito, McKay miss podium in 10m synchro
CBC Sports | Posted: July 14, 2019 1:16 PM | Last Updated: July 14, 2019
Final dive leaves team 0.81 points short of bronze, won by U.S.
The Canadian women's 10m synchronized dive team of Meaghan Benfeito and Caeli McKay came up less than a single point short of a medal at the world aquatics championships in Gwangju, South Korea, on Sunday.
Sitting in third place after four dives, the Canadians were scored 62.40 for their final dive, leaving them 0.81 points out of bronze position.
Missing the podium also means a missed opportunity for the Canadians to secure direct nomination to the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games team.
The Chinese team of Lu Wei and Zhang Jiaqi took gold with ease, compiling a total of 345.21, including a top-scored dive of 86.40.
Malaysia's Mun Yee Leong and Pandelela Pamg won silver with 312.72, while Americans Samantha Bromberg and Katrina Young took bronze with a total of 304.86.
"It was the first worlds for both of us, we were very nervous indeed. We encouraged each other before and after each dive. That helped us a lot," the 15-year-old Zhang said.
"We had two big mistakes in the easy dives this morning, so we took time to check out the problems through watching video. We improved in the final and we won the championship."
Earlier, 17-year-old debutant Wang Zongyuan claimed China's fourth gold when he won the men's 1-meter springboard with 440.25 points.
CBCSports.ca has live, every day, online coverage of the aquatics championship.