Canadian Olympic bronze medalist Meaghan Benfeito of Montreal, Quebec won four medals in FINA Diving World Series events with Olympic status over two weekends in Asia during the month of March. Benfeito won two medals each in the competitions in Sagamihara, Japan from March 1-3 and Beijing, China from March 7-9.
In Sagamihara, Japan. Benfeito won the silver medal in the women’s 10 metre platform, and bronze in the women’s 10 metre synchronized platform with Caeli McKay of Calgary, Alberta. In the women’s 10 metre platform on March 2, Benfeito posted a score of 385.1 points. Jiaqi Zhang of China won the gold medal with a score of 393.3 points. Qian Ren of China won the bronze medal with a score of 371.4 points. Benfeito reached the podium by 39.9 points over Mi Rae Kim of North Korea, who was in fourth place with a score of 345.2 points.
In the women’s 10 metre synchronized platform in Sagamihara on March 1, Benfeito and McKay posted a third place score of 311.7 points. Zhang and Wei Lu of China won the gold medal with 340.44 points, and Mi Rae Kim and A-Rim Kim of North Korea won the silver medal with 319.5 points. Benfeito and McKay reached the podium by 9.06 points over Nur Dhabitah Binti Sabri and Pandelela Pamg of Malaysia, who finished in fourth place with a score of 302.64 points.
Then in Beijing, Benfeito once again reached the podium in the women’s 10 metre platform and women’s 10 metre synchronized platform with McKay. In the women’s 10 metre platform on March 9, Benfeito posted a third place score of 336.4 points. Zhang won the gold medal with 400.05 points and Ren won the silver medal with 371.2 points. In the women’s 10 metre synchronized platform on March 7, Benfeito and McKay had a third place score of 313.14 points. Lu and Zhang won the gold medal with 354.06 points. Mi Rae Kim and A-Rim Kim won the silver medal with 325.8 points. Benfeito and McKay reached the podium by 7.37 points over Sabri and Pamg, who were in fourth place with a score of 305.76 points.
Meanwhile, Canadian Olympic bronze medalist Jennifer Abel of Montreal, Quebec won the bronze medal in the women’s three metre springboard diving competition at the FINA Diving World Series events in Sagamihara and Beijing, and teamed up with Melissa Citrini-Beaulieu of Saint-Constant, Quebec to win the silver medal in the women’s three metre synchronized springboard diving competition.
In the women’s three metre springboard in Sagamihara on March 3, Abel posted a third place score of 353.4 points. Tingmao Shi of China won the gold medal with 382.05 points. Han Wang of China won the silver medal with 378.9 points. Abel reached the podium by 0.15 points over fellow Canadian Pamela Ware of Greenfield Park, Quebec, who was in fourth place with a score of 353.25 points. Then in Beijing on March 9, Abel had a third place score of 332.7 points. Wang won the gold medal with 377.4 points and Shi won the silver medal with 367 points. Abel reached the podium by 26 points over Ware, who was in fourth place again with a score of 306.7 points.
In the women’s three metre synchronized springboard diving competition in Sagamihara on March 1, Abel and Citrini-Beaulieu had a second place score of 302.97 points. Wang and Shi won the gold medal with 330 points. Anabelle Smith and Maddison Keeney of Australia won the bronze medal with a score of 301.83 points. Abel and Citrini-Beaulieu reached the podium by 21.3 points over Grace Reid and Katherine Torrance of Great Britain, who were in fourth place with a score of 281.67 points.
Also Canada won one medal in men’s diving over the first two weekends of the FINA Diving World Series. On March 7 in the men’s three metre synchronized springboard diving competition, Philippe Gagne of Montreal, Quebec and Francois Imbeau-Dulac of Ottawa, Ontario won the bronze medal with a score of 399.48 points. Yuan Cao and Siyi Xie of China won the gold medal with 469.08 points. Jahir Ocampo Marroquin and Rommel Pacheco Marrufo of Mexico won the silver medal with 413.61 points. Gagne and Imbeau-Dulac reached the podium by 9.45 points over Nikita Shleikher and Evgenii Kuznetsov of Russia, who were in fourth place with a score of 390.03 points. The medals for Abel, Benfeito, Citrini-Beaulieu, Gagne, Imbeau-Dulac and McKay will give them confidence as they prepare for the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo.
