DIVING CANADA NOMINATES ELEVEN ATHLETES TO THE GLASGOW 2014 CANADIAN TEAM
DIVING CANADA NOMINATES ELEVEN ATHLETES TO THE GLASGOW 2014 CANADIAN TEAM
Trio of Olympic medalists lead a surging diving team to Glasgow
Ottawa – Diving Plongeon Canada and Commonwealth Games Canada(CGC)today confirmed the athletes and coaches to be named to Team Canada for the XXth Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland in July.
Amongst the Canadian diving team in Glasgow will be three 2012 Olympic medalists, in Jennifer Abel (22, Laval, QC), Meaghan Benfeito (25, Montreal, QC) and Roseline Filion (26, Laval,QC). Bolstering the team is 2013 World Championship double bronze medalist, Pamela Ware (22, Beloeil, QC).
Canadian divers just wrapped up their most successful FINA World Series season ever with Roseline Filion, Meaghan Benfeito, Jennifer Abel, and Pamela Ware bringing home sixteen total medals from the five competitions they attended. The consistency displayed by Canada’s top divers in reaching the podium on the international level is very encouraging at this point in the Olympic quadrennial. With the road to Rio running through Glasgow, Canada’s best will test themselves against the world-class divers from Australia, England, and Malaysia.
“I believe that Canada’s diving team is heading to Glasgow as the team to beat”, said Chantal Petitclerc, Chef de Mission for Canada’s Team in Glasgow. “With the four medals won by Canada at the final FINA World Series event just held in Mexico, including Meaghan Benfeito’s gold on the 10-metre tower, this team is showing that it is ready to take on the best in the Commonwealth.”
Mitch Geller, chief technical officer at Diving Plongeon Canada also believes the Canadian diving team is well positioned to impress in Glasgow.
“With this being a major games, our obligation to Commonwealth Games Canada and to all Canadians is to maximize our medal return”, said Geller. “The selection process we used has enabled us to nominate the strongest possible team we could have sent”, added Geller. “We are encouraged by our recent international results and feel confident we can contend for a gold medal in every women’s event at the Games”, said Geller.
Athletes and coaches nominated by Diving Plongeon Canada to Team Canada for the 2014 Commonwealth Games were chosen based on results and scoring standards from a series of selected events throughout the 2014 diving season. They are:
§ JENNIFER ABEL, 22, Laval, QC. 1-metre; 3-metre; 3-metre synchro (P. Ware)
A bronze medalist in 3-metre synchro at both the 2012 London Olympic Games and at the 2013 World Championships in Barcelona, Jennifer Abel has established herself as one of the world’s premiere springboard divers. Paired on 3-meter synchro with Pamela Ware, she won two silver medals and a bronze medal along the 2014 FINA World Series. The pair is currently ranked 3rd in the world by FINA, while Abel is ranked 5th individually. Abel narrowly missed the golden sweep of springboard events at the 2010 games in Delhi, finishing with gold on 1-metre and 3-metre synchro (w/ Emilie Heymans) and silver on 3-metre.
§ MEAGHAN BENFEITO, 25, Montreal, QC. 10-metre;10-metre synchro (Filion).
Fresh off two breakthrough gold medal performances at the 2014 FINA World Series on 10-metre in Mexico and 10-metre synchro in Windsor, Benfeito is a strong challenger for gold in both tower events in Scotland. This year, she and her 10-metre synchro partner Roseline Filion have won 6 medals at the 6 FINA sanctioned international events they entered. The pair has not missed an international podium all season and is working to extend that streak to include the 2014 FINA Diving World Cup in Shanghai and the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. This will be Meaghan’s second Commonwealth Games (competing in 2006, while missing 2010 due to injury).
§ MAXIM BOUCHARD, 23, Saint-Constant, QC. 10-metre; 10-metre synchro (Riendeau); 3-metre synchro (McCormick).
After a near fatal accident in 2010 while working as a show diver in the Philippines, Bouchard returned to the sport a year later with a renewed passion and has quickly risen to the upper echelon of Canadian diving. Bouchard has gone on to win back-to- back national titles on 10-metre at the Canadian Championships and has qualified for his very first Commonwealth Games. Bouchard is the only Canadian diver to be competing on both the 3-metre springboard and 10-metre tower in Glasgow.
§ ROSELINE FILION, 26, Laval,QC. 10-metre/10-metre synchro (Benfeito)
Roseline Filion is in her 11th season with the Canadian National diving team, and is proof that you can still improve with age. In partnership with her long time teammate (Meaghan Benfeito), Filion is currently ranked 2nd in the world in 10-metre synchro by FINA. The pair won a bronze medal on 10-metre synchro at the 2012 Olympic Games, and a silver medal in the same event at the 2013 World Championships. This year, they have won a medal at each leg of the World Series they attended; gold in Windsor, silver in Beijing, and bronze in Dubai, London, and Monterrey. Filion also competes individually on 10-metre and won two bronze medals in Dubai and Windsor at the FINA World Series, placing her 4th overall in FINA’s world rankings.
§ EMMA FRIESEN, 25, North Vancouver, BC. 1-metre; 3-metre
A former NCAA diving champion at the University of Hawaii, Emma Friesen has gone on to compete for Canada extensively over the last four years on the FINA Diving Grand Prix circuit. Over the last two seasons, she has won 3 medals at FINA sanctioned international events, and another 4 at Canadian national championships. For the Friesen family, diving is in their blood as Emma’s mother (Christine Loock) is a US national diving champion, and her father (Ron Friesen) represented Canada in diving at the 1972 Olympic Games.
§ FRANÇOIS IMBEAU-DULAC, 23, Saint-Lazare, QC. 3-metre
François made his first Olympic appearance in 2012 at the London Games. Placing 13th on 3-metre, he narrowly missed a spot in the final. Known for his ability to perform very difficult twisting dives, he is one of a few divers in the world that can execute an extremely challenging triple twisting dive worth 3.9 DD. This off-season, Imbeau-Dulac made a significant change to his diving technique. After battling hip flexor injuries for a number of years, he decided to switch his take-off leg and spent countless hours readapting his body to the sport. At the end of the 2013 season he was named Male Athlete of the Year by Diving Plongeon Canada.
§ RILEY MCCORMICK, 23, Victoria, BC. 3-metre; 3-metre synchro (Bouchard)
A two-time Olympian on 10-metre tower (2008 and 2012), McCormick made the transition to 3-metre springboard in 2013. At just 23 years of age, he is a 10-year veteran of the Canadian national diving team, having won 8 national titles. The 2014 Commonwealth Games will mark his first participation at a major games on springboard. He is a recent graduate from Arizona State University and has plans to further his education by enrolling in law school.
§ VINCENT RIENDEAU, 17, Pointe-Clare, QC. 10-metre;10-metre synchro (Bouchard)
A rising star to watch in Canadian diving, this will be Vincent Riendeau’s first Commonwealth Games experience. Riendeau has put together a dominant junior career, winning gold medals at every age level at the Canadian Junior Championships. He has shown some consistency in the senior ranks by capturing two consecutive silver medals on 10-metre at the Canadian Winter and Summer Championships in 2014.
§ CAROL-ANN WARE23, Beloeil, QC. 10-metre
The elder of the Ware sisters, Carol-Ann has enjoyed multiple podium finishes on the FINA Grand Prix circuit throughout her career. In Glasgow, Carol-Ann is competing in the 10-metre individual event. This is her second Commonwealth Games and she will be looking to improve on her 5th place performance in Delhi. Away from the pool she studies studio art and has a passion for photography.
§ PAMELA WARE, 21, Beloeil, QC. 1-metre; 3-metre; 3-metre synchro (Abel)
2013 was a break out year for Pamela Ware in which she established her place amongst the world’s best springboard divers. She earned two bronze medals at the 2013 FINA World Aquatic Championships on 3-metre, and 3-metre synchro (Abel). The 2014 season has seen her continue with the same intensity and drive for the podium. Throughout the 2014 FINA World Series, Pamela won two bronze medals on 3-metre and also captured two silver medals and a bronze medal in the 3-metre synchro event alongside Jennifer Abel. She is currently ranked 4th in the world by FINA on 3-metre, and 3rd in the world on 3-metre synchro (with Abel).
§ CODY YANO, 23, Edmonton, AB. 3-metre
Cody Yano is the reigning Canadian champion on 3-metre, which he won recently in Winnipeg at the 2014 Canadian Summer Championships. Yano is a veteran competitor for Canada on the FINA Diving Grand Prix circuit and also represented the country at the 2013 FISU Games. Yano currently studies Marketing and Business at the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology (NAIT). Standing 6 feet tall and weighing 90 kg, Yano is known for the raw strength and power he possesses on the board. This will be his first Commonwealth Games experience.
Coaches
§ ARTURO MIRANDA (Montreal, QC)
A national diving champion in his native Cuba, Miranda moved to Canada in the mid-90s and later earned a place on the Canadian national diving team. In 2008 he competed at the Beijing Olympics as partner to Alex Despatie in men’s 3 metre synchro, and following his post-games retirement, he began coaching fulltime. He currently coaches Meaghan Benfeito, Roseline Filion, and Jennifer Abel.
§ AARON ZIVER (Terrebonne, QC)
Originally from Winnipeg, Dziver has been the co-Head Coach of the Montreal-based CAMO Diving Club since 2008. He has coached Pamela Ware, Carol-Ann Ware, and Francois Imbeau-Dulac for the majority of their diving careers. Dziver has coached at all major games including the 2012 Olympic Games, 2011 Pan Am Games and 2010 Commonwealth Games.
§ YIHUA LI (Pointe-Claire, QC)
While representing China, Yihua Li was once the world’s top-ranked diver. After retiring from competition, she moved to Canada and has been coaching in Pointe-Claire for over 20 years. She helped guide Emilie Heymans to Olympic medals at both the 2008 and 2012 Olympic Games. In Glasgow she is coaching Canada’s youngest diver, Vincent Riendeau.
§ CÉSAR HENDERSON (Montreal, QC)
Originally from the Dominican Republic, César Henderson has coached in Montréal since 1986. As a diver, he participated at the 1980 and 1984 Olympic Games and in 2000 was named Athlete of the Century in aquatics for the Dominican Republic. He is the co-Head Coach of Montreal’s CAMO diving club and will be coaching Maxim Bouchard in Glasgow.
“Congratulations to the divers named today to Canada’s 2014 Commonwealth Games Team,” said the Honourable Bal Gosal, Minister of State (Sport). “You’ve been training hard and devoting all your time and energy to qualify for this high level of sport competition, and today your efforts have been rewarded. You honour us by being members of our Canadian team. Bravo!”
A team of 265 athletes and close to 100 coaches and support staff will be in Glasgow, Canada’s largest team ever fielded for a non-home Games. The entire Canadian Team, as well as the team’s flag bearer, will be officially announced by Commonwealth Games Canada in July 2014.
The Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games will be held from July 23rd to August 3rd, 2014, and will be the largest ever multi-sport event held on Scottish soil.
ABOUT DIVING CANADA
Diving Plongeon Canada (DPC) was established in 1967 as a not-for-profit organization to promote the growth and awareness of the sport in this country. As a member of FINA, the world’s governing body of aquatic sports, DPC contributes to the development of globally accepted standards of excellence in diving and supports the rules and regulations of international competition. Representing nine provincial diving associations, 67 local diving clubs and close to 4,000 high performance athletes, DPC shares a national commitment to advance the art and sport of diving and to position Canada as the number one diving nation of the world. Visit www.diving.cafor information.
ABOUT COMMONWEALTH GAMES CANADA
Commonwealth Games Canada (CGC) is the international franchise holder for the Commonwealth Games and Commonwealth movement in Canada, and an active, contributing member of the Canadian sport community. The mission of CGC is to strengthen sport within Canada and throughout the Commonwealth by participating in the Commonwealth Games and by using sport as a development tool. Visit www.commonwealthgames.cafor information.
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For interview requests:
Jeff Feeney
Events and Communications Manager
Diving Canada
613 736 5238 x 2101
@DivingPlongeon
For additional information on the Glasgow 2014 Canadian Team or CGC:
Sylvie Bigras
Communications Chief
Team Canada - Glasgow 2014
613 298 1625
@cgc_jcc #GlasgowCanadaGo
