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Canadian divers Rylan Wiens and Nathan Zsombor-Murray have advanced to the semifinal in the men’s 10-metre platform event at the Paris Olympics.
Wiens qualifies with 3rd-highest score; Zsombor-Murray places 10th in prelimsThe Canadian Press
· Posted: Aug 09, 2024 10:53 AM EDT | Last Updated: 6 minutes ago
Canada’s Rylan Wiens competes in the men’s 10m platform diving preliminary at the Paris Olympics on Friday in Saint-Denis, France. (Lee Jin-man/The Associated Press)Canadian divers Rylan Wiens and Nathan Zsombor-Murray have advanced to the semifinal in the men’s 10-metre platform event at the Paris Olympics.
Wiens, from Pike Lake, Sask., finished third in Friday’s preliminaries with a score of 485.25, while Zsombor-Murray, of Pointe-Claire, Que., secured 10th place with 407.20 points.
China’s Cao Yuan had the highest preliminary score at 500.15, followed by Rikuto Tamai of Japan at 497.15.
The top 18 divers advanced to Saturday’s semifinal.
Wiens and Zsombor-Murray won bronze together in men’s synchronized 10-metre platform diving earlier at the Games.
It was Canada’s first-ever medal in the event, and the first Canadian men’s diving medal since Alexandre Despatie’s silver in the 3m springboard event in Beijing 2008.
Wiens said he needed a mental reset before the individual event.
“Mentally, I just get rid of all the bronze medal stuff that I had in my room. You know, packed it away to bring home, and pretty much reset after two days after that, and came in like it’s a new competition. A whole new event,” he said.
Sitting in third heading into the semifinal, Wiens said he knows he must remain consistent to land a spot in the final.
“I know I’ve got the dive quality to get into the final, so I’m just going to try to go in and just stay comfy and do what I did in the prelim,” he said.
WATCH | Wiens, Zsombor-Murray pick up Olympic 10m synchro bronze:
Canada’s Wiens, Zsombor-Murray capture 10m synchro diving bronze at Paris 2024Saskatoon’s Rylan Wiens and Nathan Zsombor-Murray from Pointe-Claire, Que., finish third in the men’s synchronized 10-metre platform final at the Olympic Games Paris 2024. They become the first Canadian men to reach the Olympic podium in this event.
China on verge of unprecedented sweepChina is seven for seven in diving golds at the Paris Olympics. Just one to go for an unprecedented sweep of all eight diving golds in the Games.
Chen Yiwen won the women’s three-meter springboard on Friday for China’s seventh gold medal. Maddison Keeney of Australia took silver, with bronze going to Chang Yani of China.
It was Chen’s second gold in Paris after winning earlier in the three-meter synchronized with partner Chang. Both divers were cheered on by a large Chinese crowd waving China’s red-and-yellow flag and shouting “jiayou, jiayou” — roughly translated as “let’s go” — each time they prepared to dive.
Chen won with 376.00 points from five dives, followed by Keeney (343.10) and Chang (318.75). Chiara Pellacani of Italy was fourth with 309.60.
No Americans qualified for the final 12.
The sweep could happen Saturday in the final diving session of the Olympics with the men’s 10-meter platform.
China dominates all phases of diving but none more than the women’s three-meter springboard. China has won the event in 10 straight Olympics.
The last time it didn’t win was the 1984 Los Angeles Games, which is where China won its first gold medal in diving.
Chen and Chang set off joyous celebrations earlier in the Games after their synchronized gold. Chen carried Chang — many described it as a “bridal carry”— in her arms to celebrate. They are both making their Olympic debut and have a strong friendship.
Including Friday’s results, China has won 54 of 71 gold medals in diving since 1984. Since the 2008 Beijing Olympics, the country has won 34 of 39 gold medals in the discipline.
With files from The Associated Press
