The divers were in action at the World Aquatics Championships which officially began on Saturday in Fukuoka, Japan, with three finals scheduled. Pamela Ware posted the best Canadian result of the day finishing just off the podium on the one-metre springboard with a total of 284.40 points.
A performance beyond expectations for the one who had not taken part in this event at the international level for almost 10 years.
“I wasn’t originally supposed to take part, but I’m so glad I did. I hadn’t done the 1m internationally since 2014 and honestly didn’t have high expectations. I just wanted to have fun, dive well and that’s what I did. I’m really proud of myself! commented Ware, who was only 0.65 points away from a bronze medal at the opening of the Worlds.
After long minutes of waiting by the side of the pool, the two-time Olympian saw her good friend Aranza Vazquez Montano of Mexico pull off a fifth and final good dive to bring her total tally to 285.05 points.
“I was super proud of myself and super proud of her, especially since it’s her first international medal! launched Ware.
Lin Shan (318.60) and Li Yajle (306.35) scored twice for China in this final.
The only other athlete from Quebec registered for an event on Saturday, Nathan Zsombor-Murray joined forces with Ottawa’s Kate Miler in the 10m synchro. The Canadian tandem (290.43) finally took fifth place in a tough session, won by the Chinese divers (339.54).
“We wanted to take the pressure off at the start of the competition and we saw it as a practice. It’s a learning experience for both of us and it’s very good for Kate, who had her first experience at the Senior Worlds, “analyzed the Pointe-Claire athlete, who is thinking big for the future.
“I know a podium was possible because we have what it takes to get there, but I remain satisfied and we are looking to the next events! »
Audrey Lamothe did not take long to report to Fukuoka. Qualified for the technical solo final, the Quebecer obtained the best result of her career at World Seniors by finishing sixth in the event.
The 18-year-old artistic swimmer once again demonstrated that she belongs to the world elite in her discipline by obtaining a score of 216.4351 for her performance in the final session which crowned Japan’s Yukiko Inui.
The latter retained her title of world champion thanks to her 276.5717 points, ahead in order of the Austrian Vasiliki Alexandri (264.4200) and the Spaniard Iris Tio Casas (254.2100).
Lamothe took the opportunity to improve on her mark of 214.9417, which had also earned her sixth place in the preliminaries earlier this week, in addition to raising the bar for her upcoming outings. The four-time World Cup medalist this season placed tenth in this event in Budapest, Hungary, at the 2022 World Championships.
The Montrealer will have another chance to shine on Monday, during the preliminary round of the free solo. A place among the top 12 would allow him to reach the final which will take place on Wednesday.
For their part, Laurianne Imbeau, Raphaëlle Plante, Kiara Quieti and Florence Tremblay were part of the Canadian squad which presented a first acrobatic routine a little earlier on Saturday. The representatives of the maple leaf (203.6600) finished sixth in the preliminaries and will be able to fight for a podium on Monday.
For her part, adopted Quebecer Scarlett Finn teamed up with Kenzie Priddell in a technical duet on Friday. Their score of 192.0200 was not enough to finish among the top 12 duos invited to the final scheduled for Sunday. They are in 18th place in the event standings.
The Fukuoka World Championships resume on Sunday, with Caeli McKay (10m synchro), Eric Brown (10km open water) and the Canadian women’s water polo team competing against Hungary to start their tournament.
