(Saint-Denis) Although they already have an Olympic medal in their suitcase, Canadian divers Nathan Zsombor-Murray and Rylan Wiens do not yet feel like they have accomplished their duty.
The two bronze medalists in the synchronized 10-meter platform event made it through the preliminaries of the individual event on Friday at the Paris Olympics.
Zsombor-Murray of Pointe-Claire had a cumulative score of 407.20 points for her six dives. Wiens of Pike Lake, Sask., had 485.25 points.
They finished tenth and third respectively, as the top 18 divers advanced to the semi-finals, which will take place on Saturday. The final will also be held on Saturday at the Olympic Aquatics Centre.
Zsombor-Murray said she may have felt a little more pressure following the duo’s synchro performance – perhaps because the audience’s expectations were raised for her.
Wiens, for his part, noted that having already won a medal gave him more confidence in his abilities.
“We knew we had the quality to win a medal in synchro,” said the 22-year-old Saskatchewan native. “In the individual event, I want to have the same mentality, telling myself I can win a medal.”
PHOTO LEE JIN-MAN, ASSOCIATED PRESS
Canadian Rylan Wiens
The two young men won their medals on July 29, on Day 3 of the Paris Games. They took part in a media blitz the next day and were then able to celebrate with their families. Since then, they have resumed training to prepare for the individual event.
“I didn’t think the job was done and I could rest,” Zsombor-Murray said. “It wasn’t too hard to come back and do my six dives after synchro. We knew there was another competition after that.”
Wiens had a flawless day in the preliminaries, even scoring 9.0s on his fifth dive.
“Any time you get a good score that puts you in medal position, even if it’s in the prelims, it’s a great feeling,” he said. “But now that’s behind me. I have to think about the semifinals.
“There is no future, no past, only the present. That’s what I try to tell myself during competitions,” Wiens added.
Zsombor-Murray, meanwhile, missed his second dive, receiving a 4.0. However, he was able to avoid being put down by that missed jump and showed consistency throughout the rest of the competition.
“Overall, I did enough to get a spot in the semifinals,” said Quebec’s lone representative on the Canadian diving team in Paris. “It certainly wasn’t my best performance.
“I missed my second dive, but then I had to focus on the next dives, because it’s not over until the last dive. That’s what I’m training for. I want to be able to stay in the competition, even if I miss a dive,” he continued.
China’s Yuan Cao topped the competition with 500.15 points. Japan’s Rikuto Tamai followed in second place with 497.15 points.
China won seven of eight diving gold medals at the Tokyo Games three years ago. It is aiming for a clean sweep in the French capital, and is currently 6-for-6 at the Paris Games.
The other Chinese competitor in the 10-metre platform competition on Friday, Hao Yang, finished fourth with a score of 479.80.
Yang missed his second dive, after having to retake his balance preparation, and he received two scores of 2.5 and one of 3.0.
“Everyone is human and everyone can make a mistake,” Wiens said.
“I was watching everyone in training. There are maybe six or eight of us fighting for medals. It will be a fierce fight from the semi-final onwards,” he added.
And the two Canadians are as hungry as their rivals.