Claude-Olivier Lisé-Coderre, Mathilde Laberge and Lila Stewart were the big stars of the day at the Dresden International Invitational on Friday, Germany. Lisé-Coderre won the gold medal in the 3m springboard in category B, while Laberge and Stewart joined forces to reach the top of the podium in the synchronized 3m.
After a first dive that ranked him provisionally third, Lisé-Coderre took matters into his own hands, earning the top score in each of the final three rounds, en route to a combined total score of 446.40 points.
During qualifications, divers perform five basic dives and three optional dives. The scores received on the basic dives are added to the score of the dives performed in the final to give the total score.
The Quebecer obtained his best score, 63.00 points, on his last pass on the springboard in the final. He was accompanied on the podium by the Ukrainians Nazarii Kononenko (428.75 points) and Dmytro Stepanov (420.70 points), second and third respectively.
” It is a relief ! It was a long day and it was my first big international competition. I think I managed my stress well and managed to perform as well as what I do in training. It’s exciting to compare myself to the best in the world and it gives confidence to see that I am capable of winning gold against them,” said Claude-Olivier Lisé-Coderre.
Also in the final, Kash Tarasoff finished in sixth place with a total of 381.60 points.
At the end of the day, Mathilde Laberge and Lila Stewart launched in sync on the 3m springboard. The Canadians set the tone from their first dive, collecting 45.00 points to move into provisional first place.
They then saw the Ukrainians achieve two excellent dives to take control of the event. Laberge and Stewart did not seem intimidated, however, and they saved the best for last. Their final dive earned them a score of 59.94 points, which secured their place atop the podium with a total of 254.70 points.
“It was very exciting to win gold in the final. I haven’t been able to train as much as I would have liked in the last few days due to an injury. Being able to dive today (Friday) was a great victory and in addition to winning, it was even better,” said Lila Stewart.
The Saskatchewan native added that she was even happier to have the chance to share this medal with Mathilde Laberge, from Quebec, since they are very good friends in everyday life.
“We had the chance to train together a little in the last few weeks, so we had a little experience together. She’s one of my best friends and it really adds something special to dive and win with her. Mathilde is an excellent competitor, it’s motivating,” added Stewart.
The Ukrainians Yelizaveta Diadiuk and Kseniia Bochek finished second (228.90 points), just ahead of the British Zoé Schneider and Aliana Reihs (226.50 points).
Bronze for Ella Lindsay
After taking fourth place the day before on the one-meter springboard, Ella Lindsay absolutely wanted to get on the podium on Friday. The wish of the diver from Nepean (Ontario) was granted, she finished with the bronze medal on the platform.
Performing her first two dives at the 7m platform, Lindsay climbed to the 10m tower for her third and final jump of the final where she earned a score of 51.80 points, her best of the final. This jump allowed him to climb to the third step of the podium by virtue of his total score of 291.50 points.
She was only beaten by the Australian Maggie Gray (368.80 points) and the British Jule Eisenberg (302.35 points).
Also in the final, Lila Gokiert, gold medalist the day before on the one-meter springboard, this time ranked seventh (285.05 points).
In action in the one-meter springboard final in Group A, Emmitt Reesor and Chris Booler finished sixth and tenth, respectively. Italian Matteo Santoro won gold in the category.
Canadians at the foot of the podium
There were also Canadian athletes in action at the International Invitational in Indianapolis, Indiana. In the synchronized 3m, Alberta’s Tazman Abramowicz and Ontario’s Victor Povzner teamed up to represent the maple leaf.
The Canadians came very close to getting on the podium, finishing fourth in the event won by Americans Andrew Capobianco and Quentin Henninger (387.81 points).
The 347.91 points collected by Abramowicz and Povzner placed them less than 10 points behind Frenchmen Jules Bouyer and Alexis Jandard (356.97 points), who finished in third place.
Minhyuk Kang and Seongho Woo (370.11 points) of South Korea were the silver medalists.
Tazman Abramowicz and Victor Povzner will both return to action on Saturday in the individual 3m springboard event. Several other Canadian divers will be there.