After winning the bronze medal in the one-metre springboard earlier this week, Mia Vallée did it again on Saturday at the FINA World Championships by winning the silver medal.
Posted at 6:52 p.m.
The Quebecer obtained scores of 67.50 and 66 on her last two jumps on the 3m springboard to finish the day on the second step of the podium with 329 points.
“It went incredibly well! I didn’t expect to be on the podium at all today. I never look at the scores during the competition, I had no idea after my fourth jump that I was this close to a medal. I came out of the water after my last jump and I heard everyone screaming, it was only then that I realized what was going on,” Vallée said in an interview with Sportcom.
I was already satisfied with my qualification in the final. I wanted to be proud of myself with my dives, my goal was not at all to finish with a medal. I had no pressure on my shoulders and that’s really what made the difference.
Mia Valley
Only China’s Yiwen Chen (366.90) was able to outperform Vallée in the final. The bronze medal went to China’s Yani Chang (325.85).
In the semi-finals the day before, Vallée was ranked fourth behind Yiwen Chen, Yani Chang and the Italian Chiara Pellacani. By this time, Vallée had already fulfilled his goal of finishing in the Top 12 to advance to the final.
“I was almost more nervous for the semi-finals than for the final. I wanted to succeed in classifying myself for the final and it was successful. I stayed calm and took it one jump at a time,” Vallée said.
Mia Vallée now has one event left at the FINA World Championships, the synchronized 3m with her teammate Margo Erlam. Expectations are high in the Canadian camp for this ultimate competition.
“Before the start of the Championships, I thought my best chance of a medal was in 3m synchro! We haven’t had a lot of time to practice together, but we are two excellent divers and it’s clear that the objective is to get back on the podium,” added Vallée.
On the men’s side, Nathan Zsombor-Murray finished eighth in the semi-final on the 10m platform with 421.50 points and earned his ticket to the grand final on Sunday.
Albertan Rylan Wiens will also be in this final.