Diving for the Games
May 16, 2008
At the end of April I travelled to North America to compete in the Canadian and American legs of the FINA Diving Grand Prix.
These competitions were crucial to our Australian Olympic selection, to prove to the Australian diving selectors that we can perform at a high level and be competitive internationally.
After three long flights we finally arrived at Montreal for the Canadian Grand Prix meet, we had a couple days of training to get familiar with the pool and to get over the jetlag. There were divers from over 15 countries competing in this event, including many Olympic and World Championship medallists.
My first event was on May 3 and it was Women's 3m Synchronised with Sharleen Stratton. According to the Olympic selection criteria we needed to place in the top 5 and score over 285 points.
Sharleen and I dove very well to score 303.18 points and finish in second place.
The next day Melissa Wu and I competed in the Women's 10m Synchronised event. In this event we also needed to place in the top 5 and score over 295 points. We dove extremely well, scoring lots of 9s and 9.5s. We finished second with a personal best score of 351.96, only 4 points behind the Chinese pair who are ranked number one in the world.
We beat the Canadian pair who came second at the World Cup in February, it was a great achievement to beat them especially in Canada.
As my results with Sharleen and Melissa met all selection requirements, Diving Australia will nominate Sharleen and I to the Australia Olympic Committee for Olympic selection in the Women's 3m Synchronised event, and nominate Melissa and I for Olympic selection in the Women's 10m Synchronised event.
The Australian team did very well in Canada. Melissa won the Women's 10m event, there were also three silvers and two bronze medals won.
After the competitions in Montreal we were off to sunny Fort Lauderdale for the American leg of the Grand Prix. The pool in Fort Lauderdale is outdoors, which is lots of fun but always challenging as we never train outdoors. We never normally have to deal with the wind, rain and sun.
Again we had a few days of training to adjust to our new surroundings before competitions started. There were divers from 20 countries competing in America. The quality was very high.
My first event in Fort Lauderdale was on May 9 and it was the Women's 3m Synchronised with Sharleen. We dove well in a tough field to come in third place with a haul of 303.96 points.
The next day was Women's 10m Synchronised with Melissa, this event was very challenging as it was very windy up on the 10m. Because I say the "ready, go" for Melissa and I; I really need to pick the perfect time for us to do our takeoff. We dealt with conditions very well, to finish to score 325.80 points and grab second.
In America the Australian team came away with two golds, two silvers and a bronze, which was an awesome effort. From my four competitions I came home with three silvers and a bronze, which I'm very happy with.
The next step in my Olympic selection is for Diving Australia to nominate me to the Australian Olympic Committee, from there the team will be officially announced on the 27th of May!
These competitions were crucial to our Australian Olympic selection, to prove to the Australian diving selectors that we can perform at a high level and be competitive internationally.
After three long flights we finally arrived at Montreal for the Canadian Grand Prix meet, we had a couple days of training to get familiar with the pool and to get over the jetlag. There were divers from over 15 countries competing in this event, including many Olympic and World Championship medallists.
My first event was on May 3 and it was Women's 3m Synchronised with Sharleen Stratton. According to the Olympic selection criteria we needed to place in the top 5 and score over 285 points.
Sharleen and I dove very well to score 303.18 points and finish in second place.
The next day Melissa Wu and I competed in the Women's 10m Synchronised event. In this event we also needed to place in the top 5 and score over 295 points. We dove extremely well, scoring lots of 9s and 9.5s. We finished second with a personal best score of 351.96, only 4 points behind the Chinese pair who are ranked number one in the world.
We beat the Canadian pair who came second at the World Cup in February, it was a great achievement to beat them especially in Canada.
As my results with Sharleen and Melissa met all selection requirements, Diving Australia will nominate Sharleen and I to the Australia Olympic Committee for Olympic selection in the Women's 3m Synchronised event, and nominate Melissa and I for Olympic selection in the Women's 10m Synchronised event.
The Australian team did very well in Canada. Melissa won the Women's 10m event, there were also three silvers and two bronze medals won.
After the competitions in Montreal we were off to sunny Fort Lauderdale for the American leg of the Grand Prix. The pool in Fort Lauderdale is outdoors, which is lots of fun but always challenging as we never train outdoors. We never normally have to deal with the wind, rain and sun.
Again we had a few days of training to adjust to our new surroundings before competitions started. There were divers from 20 countries competing in America. The quality was very high.
My first event in Fort Lauderdale was on May 9 and it was the Women's 3m Synchronised with Sharleen. We dove well in a tough field to come in third place with a haul of 303.96 points.
The next day was Women's 10m Synchronised with Melissa, this event was very challenging as it was very windy up on the 10m. Because I say the "ready, go" for Melissa and I; I really need to pick the perfect time for us to do our takeoff. We dealt with conditions very well, to finish to score 325.80 points and grab second.
In America the Australian team came away with two golds, two silvers and a bronze, which was an awesome effort. From my four competitions I came home with three silvers and a bronze, which I'm very happy with.
The next step in my Olympic selection is for Diving Australia to nominate me to the Australian Olympic Committee, from there the team will be officially announced on the 27th of May!
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