Three-time Olympic bronze medalist Meaghan Benfeito of Montreal, Quebec and Caeli McKay of Calgary, Alberta won the bronze medal at the 2018 FINA Diving World Cup in Wuhan, China on Thursday. Even though it is called a World Cup, the event is more like a world championship because it is held only once every two years.
McKay and Benfeito posted a score of 324.42 points over five rounds of diving in the women’s 10m synchronized diving event. Jiaqi Zhang and Minjie Zhang of China won the gold medal with a score of 366.12 points. Mi Hwa Kim and Kwang Hui Kim of North Korea won the silver medal with a score of 328.98 points.
McKay and Benfeito reached the podium by 5.04 points. Pandelela Pamg and Jun Hoong Cheong of Malaysia finished in fourth place with a score of 319.38 points.
This was the second medal for McKay in the competition in China. She previously won a silver medal with Vincent Riendeau of Montreal, Quebec in the mixed 10m synchronized diving event. However that event does not have Olympic status, unlike the women’s 10m synchronized diving event that does.
Benfeito meanwhile has made the strong adjustment to diving with McKay. She won the bronze medal in the women’s 10m synchronized diving event at the 2012 Olympic Games in London and the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro with Roseline Filion of Laval, Quebec. Now it appears Benfeito and McKay will be medal contenders for Canada at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo.
