Roseline Filion won another medal in the company of her co-member Meaghan Benfeito.
(Photos: Martin Alarie)
Divers Roseline Filion and Jennifer Abel distinguish themselves
Russian Grand Prix in diving
Laval residents Roseline Filion and Jennifer Abel fared well against some of the best divers in the world in the 3rd round of the FINA Grand Prix in diving at the end of the last week, in Russia.
Roseline graced the podium in the international competition with her partner Meaghan Benfeito. The duo won a bronze medal in the female 10 metro synchro on April 12th. They raked in 305 points. "Even if we won a medal, it didn't roll well for us. We could have done much better in our diving. Our synchronisity was at fault, our points should have been higher. We did better in training periods," said the Laval diver in an interview with the Courrier Laval. "Our injuries caused a gap in our training in Montreal," added the vice-champion.
The Quebecers finished with 34, 17 points from the Chinese divers Cao Jingzhen and Chen Ni. Russians Natalia Goncharova and Yulia Koltunova won the silver medal.
The Fabreville athlete messed up her first time in the 3 ½ meter and Meaghan missed the third tandem dive. "In synchro, there is no room for error."
Roseline has been held back by an ankle fracture since the beginning of the season, and hasn't been giving it much rest. "I felt that it was in pain before leaving for Russia. It worried me. But my foot healed well, everything was fine in Russia," she said.
At the foot of the podium
For her part, the Canadian rising young star in diving Jennifer Able finished at the foot of the podium in the 3 meter springboard on April 13th. Jennifer was on her way to a medal until the end and gained 296.4 points. She watched Chineses divers Dong Jun and Qu Lin win the gold and silver, respectively. Katja Dieckow from Germany won the bronze medal.
"I missed two dives. I was still trusting in my chance to climb the podium. Without those errors, I would have a medal around my neck," she told the Courrier Laval. It was her third time at a Grand Prix championship. "I will aim higher. If winning a medal in Spain was a nice surprise, a medal in Moscow would have amazed me," she said.
Jennifer is in her second international season on the national team and won 3rd place in the 3 meter springboard competition in Spain.
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(Photos: Martin Alarie)