Diving Canada - Pamela Ware, Nathan Zsombor-Murray and Vincent Riendeau all qualified for the 2020 FINA World Cup on Sunday at the 2020 Winter National Championships in Saskatoon, Sask.

Ethan Pitman scored 501.85 points to take top spot in the men’s 10m event.

Ware, a native of Montreal, Que., qualified for the World Cup (Tokyo, April 21-26, 2020) despite finishing second behind Jennifer Abel in the women’s 3m final on Sunday since Abel had previously qualified for the World Cup.  

“I was so stressed all week and having a bad prelim,” said Ware. “Having to come back after that was hard, but I mean I didn’t let go, I pushed further and further and got better.”

Abel set a new personal best with 385.55 points to win the women’s 3m at the Shaw Centre.

The 26-year-old Ware finished in the top spot following the semi-final earlier Sunday scoring 328.5 points. Ware scored 361.15 points in the final finishing second ahead of Margo Erlam who scored 318.8 points.

Battling with Abel is something Ware enjoys.

“It’s always great competing with Jen,” Ware said. “We’ve been close for the last eight years in competitions so that’s really exciting to know that I can still go back-and-forth with her.”

On the men’s side, Zsombor-Murray finished second in the final scoring 485 points while Riendeau finished fifth with 460.05 - both qualified for the Worlds based on their combined score from the prelims and semis as well.

The pair also qualified for the World Cup in the men’s 10-metre synchronized event on Thursday.

Zsombor-Murray’s 111 points on his second dive of the final are the highest-scoring dive in Canadian history.

Pitman, 22, credited his preparation for his success on Sunday.

“It was really my training that’s been going really well lately,” Pitman said. “I’ve been trying to think more positive about my diving and getting through it with positive thinking really helps.”

The 501.85 points scored by Pitman was the third-highest score ever posted at a national championship.

Pitman was seventh following Saturday’s prelims and moved up to fifth in the semis.

The Montreal, Que. native admitted he didn’t have the type of dives he was hoping for on Saturday but was happy with the way he was able to quickly turn it around on Sunday.

“I’m really happy ‘cause usually when I mess up in the prelims or semis and don’t do as well, I sort of go into self-defeat mode,” said Pitman. “Today was different and I’m happy I was able to get past that and do really well.”

Saskatoon, Sask. native Rylan Wiens rounded out the Top 3 in the men’s 10m event scoring 472.35 points.

The 2020 Winter National Championships has 44 of the country’s top divers in action with the 2020 Olympic Games just seven months away.  In addition to vying for podium finishes and national titles, this competition is the final opportunity for many athletes to qualify for the 2020 FINA World Cup (Tokyo, April 21-26, 2020). The World Cup is the last chance for Canada to secure Olympic quota spots for Tokyo 2020.

Full results can be found here: http://www.issmembership.com/diving/live/schedule.aspx

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For more information:
Maëlle Dancause
Manager, Public Relations
Diving Plongeon Canada
C: 514-475-4540 | maelle@diving.ca