Abel and Ware strike World Cup silver at Rio test event
Feature photo: Abel & Ware (left) on the podium (via Rio 2016 / Alexandre Loureiro)
Canadians divers enjoyed a strong Saturday in Brazil, winning a FINA World Cup silver, and an Olympic spot at the Maria Lenk Aquatic Centre, which will be their home this summer at Rio 2016.
At the Olympic test event, Jennifer Abel and Pamela Ware scooped up the second place medal in three-metre synchro with a total score of 312.27 points. They progressed up the standings on each of their five dives during the final round.
Shi Tingmao and Wu Minxia of China were consistently ahead form the second dive of the final round onward, taking gold with 339.60 points. Australian duo Samantha Mills and Esther Qin were third (307.50).
The other good news on Saturday came via Roseline Filion, who took part in her first competition since fracturing her ankle during training in December. Her 18th place individual finish combined with 16th for teammate Celina Toth in preliminaries, gave Canada what it needed for an Olympic spot in women’s 10-metre platform.
Meaghan Benfeito had already earned a women’s 10m Olympic spot, making her ineligible to gain a second quota. She gave up her World Cup spot to Filion in order to give Canada a chance to send another diver to Rio.
The diving World Cup and Rio test event continues through Wednesday.
