Pamela Ware wins diving bronze at FINA World Championships

Pamela Ware wins diving bronze at FINA World Championships

BARCELONA- There seems to be no end to the depth of talent in Canadian diving. The latest star to emerge is 20-year-old Pamela Ware of Beloeil, Que., who won the bronze medal Saturday on women’s three-metre springboard at the FINA World Championships. It was her second medal of the competition.

"These are my first world championships so they would have been memorable anyway but today was a bit of a surprise," said Ware. "I wasn’t expecting a medal. But all the dives I have been having trouble with, I did them well today."

China placed 1-2 with Olympic silver medallist Zi He earning 383.40 points for the gold. Han Wang was second at 356.35 and Ware followed with a personal best 350.25, bettering her previous best score by eight points.

Prior to her last dive, Ware took a peak at the scoreboard and realized she was in contention for a medal. She landed her twisting dive for four 8.5’s and three 8.0’s to earn 75 points, her highest single dive score of the day.

"I don’t usually check the scores but that’s how confident I was with my last dive," said Ware. "I just told myself ‘don’t miss, don’t miss.’ When I landed I thought I had gone over a little but apparently I didn’t."

Jennifer Abel of Laval, third at the 2011 worlds, was also involve in a heated battle for a medal earning 339.75 for fifth spot.

"I showed stability but I can’t say I was pleased with my diving," said Abel, 21, a two-time Olympian. "Still I’m not too disappointed. It was a year of change for me with a lot of challenges and I feel I still came through and reached my goals for the season."

Canadian diving is currently riding an amazing wave of success. Divers from Canada have stepped on the podium at the last five Olympic Games and the last seven world championships.

Canada ends this week’s diving competition with three medals. Roseline Filion of Laval and Meaghan Benfeito of Montreal took silver in the women’s 10-metre synchro and Ware and Abel were third on three-metre synchro.

High diving makes its worlds debut on Monday with the men’s first round in 27-metre. Canada has one entry, Stephanie De Lima of Montreal in the women’s 20-metre event which goes on Tuesday.

Photos: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/2qhkct2zi70zb90/aXe629QlWJ

- 30 -

For more information:

Jeff Feeney

Diving Plongeon Canada

jeff@diving.ca

C: +34 65 161 2740 (iPhone)

Twitter: @jjfeens

Skype: DPCFeeney