May 24, 2013
Filion and Benfeito punch in tickets for worlds
QUEBEC CITY – Olympic bronze medallists Roseline Filion of Laval, Que., and Meaghan Benfeito of Montreal received near perfect marks on their opening two dives en route to the gold in the women’s 10-metre synchro on Friday at the 2013 Summer Senior Nationals diving competition.
Filion and Benfeito also beat the standard for the FINA World Championships July 19 to August 4. The competition is also a qualifying event for the World University Games July 6-17 in Kazan, Russia.
The pair totaled 337.80 points receiving a string of 9.0’s and 9.5’s on their compulsory dives to open the event. Sisters Pamela Ware and Carol-Ann Ware of Beloeil, Que., were second at 304.62.
‘’We corrected a lot of mistakes from our competition in Mexico last week,’’ said Filion, 25, heading to her fifth worlds with her eight-year partner. ‘’The Canadian championships are always a stressful competition for us and we knew we were up against a strong team for the spot.’’
On men’s one-metre, two-time Olympian Riley McCormick of Victoria earned the gold with 365.20 points for his first career springboard crown at the senior level. Maxime Morneau-Ricard of Quebec City was second at 346.50 and Nichols Beaupré of Montreal third at 343.40.
McCormick, a 10-metre tower specialist, underwent surgery on his left thumb in early December. He tore ligaments back in 2005 and had trained and competed through the pain ever since to stay on track for his Olympic goals.
‘’I felt this was a good time to get the surgery done,’’ said McCormick, 21. ‘’This year I’m going to stay off the tower the help the recovery. This season my focus has been the three-metre and I’m going to try my best to make the world team.’’
Competition continues through to Sunday at Université Laval.
