Canadian Diver Defeats World Champion For Gold Medal CanSport, March 07, 1999

ROSTOCK, Germany, March 6, 1999
Myriam Boileau of Montreal became the first Canadian in the 44-year history of the Rostock Grand Prix diving meet on Saturday to win a gold medal on the women's 10-metre tower.

Boileau, the 1997 World Cup champion, earned 315.81 points for the victory edging world champion Olena Zhupyna of the Ukraine second at 304.23 and Loudy Tourdy of Australia was third at 285.00

It was Canada's first gold at the competition since Olympic champion Sylvie Bernier's win on women's three-metre in 1983. Boileau trailed throughout the final only grabbing the lead on her last dive with marks ranging between 8.0 and 8.5 out of 10. "My preliminaries weren't that great but I was able to comeback strong especially in the final" said Boileau. "This was a big win for my confidence. Many of the world's best were here and I'm glad to get a win this early in the season."

Emilie Heymans of Montreal, second on three-metre and fourth on tower at the 1999 World Cup this past January, was eliminated in the semifinal for eighth overall. Seven-time Canadian champion Anne Montminy of Pointe-Claire, Que., had some tough luck as she was eliminated in the preliminaries after placing fourth. Boileau was second and Heymans third and only two entries per country were allowed to advance.

On men's three-metre, Hai Liang Xiao of China won the gold with 451.08 points. His compatriot Peng Bo was second at 434.07 and Andreas Wels of Germany third at 424.64.

Philippe Comtois of Montreal, ranked sixth in the world, didn't reach the final and finished 13th overall. Commonwealth Games tower champion Alexandre Despatie of Montreal was 16th and Etienne Gauthier of Montreal 23rd. Gauthier was taken to hospital Friday after hitting his hands on the board in the one-metre springboard event. An examination revealed no fractures.

Comtois and Anne-Josee Dionne of Montreal both placed sixth in the one-metre event Friday. Competition continues Sunday with the women's three-metre and men's 10-metre.

Leading results at the Rostock International diving meet at Rostock, Germany:

MEN
One-metre :
1. Andreas Wels, Germany, 407.25
2. Peng Bo, China, 405.46
3. P.J. Bogart, U.S., 377.13
6. Philippe Comtois, Montreal, 356.70
Etienne Gauthier, Montreal, did not finish

Three-metre :
1. Hai Liang Xiao, China 451.08
2. Peng Bo, China, 434.07
3. Andreas Wels, Germany, 424.74
13. Philippe Comtois, Montreal, 334.29
16. Alexandre Despatie, Montreal, 327.72
23. Etienne Gauthier, Montreal, 266.40.

WOMEN
One-metre :
1. Jing Zheng, China, 268.56
2. Heiki Fischer, Germany, 252.39
3. Conny Schmalfuss, Germany, 250.05
6. Anne-Josee Dionne, Montreal,221.34

10-metre :
1. Myriam Boileau, Montreal, 315.81
2. Olena Zhupyna, Ukraine,304.23
3. Loudy Tourdy, Australia, 285.00
8. Emilie Heymans, Montreal,247.00.

Louis Daignault
Canadian Sport News

March 7, 1999, ROSTOCK, Germany�Montreal teenagers Alexandre Despatie, who received one perfect 10.0, and Emilie Heymans each won a bronze medal Sunday to cap a strong Canadian performance at the Rostock Grand Prix diving competition.

On men�s 10-metre tower, Xiang Xu of China took the gold with 451.77 points. His compatriot Peng Bo earned his third silver of the meet placing second at 440.55 and Despatie, the Commonwealth Games champion last September, grabbed the bronze at 400.05.

In the final, Despatie, 13, scored one perfect 10 and a string of 9.0 and 9.5�s on his front three-and-a-half, the same dive on which he scored perfect marks at the Commonwealth Games.

� I did that dive really well in the preliminaries and semifinals too, � said Despatie, also pleased about rebounding a from a 17th place finish at the World Cup in January.

� But the judges were being tough. I guess they were saving the 10 for the final and that�s when I really needed it. My first two dives in the final weren�t very strong so I really had to score big on that dive to get the medal. �

Christopher Kalec of Montreal was eliminated in the semifinal for 11th overall.

In a very close women�s three-metre event, Jing Zhang headlined another 1-2 Chinese finish with 291.78 points, Minx Xia was second at 291.03 and Heymans, ranked second n the world, was third at 290.82.

Heymans, 17, held the lead heading into the last round of the final but scored 6.0 and 7.0�s on her dive to drop to third. She was still very pleased with the outcome.

� I had two new dives in my list and I still got one of my best overall scores ever in the final, � said Heymans, who was sixth after the preliminaries.

Myriam Boileau of Montreal, the 10-metre champion Saturday, was eighth. Anne-Josee Dionne of Montreal was ninth in the preliminaries but was eliminated because each country can only advance two divers.

China ended the competition with four gold and four silver, Germany earned four medals and Canada had three.

Sunday�s results at the Rostock Grand prix diving competition at Rostock, Germany :

MEN
10-metre: 1. Xiang Xu, China, 451.77; 2. Peng Bo, China, 440.55; 3. Alexandre Despatie, Montreal, 400.05; 11. Christopher Kalec, Montreal, 315.48.

WOMEN
Three-metre: 1. Jing Zhang, China, 291.78; 2. Ming Xia China, 291.03; 3. Emilie Heymans, Montreal, 290.82; 8. Myriam Boileau, Montreal, 268.47.

Medal standings:
1. China, eighth medals (four gold-four silver-zero bronze); 2. Germany, 4 (1-2-1); 3. Canada, 3 (1-0-2); 4. Ukraine, 1 (1-0-0); 5. (tie) U.S., and Australia (0-0-1).

Louis Daignault
Canadian Sport News

Montrealers make diving history
Boileau wins Canada's first tower gold, Despatie, Heymans reach podium

DAVE STUBBS, The Gazette, March 8, 1999
Montreal divers Alexandre Despatie and Emilie Heymans yesterday capped a fine weekend for local divers in a major German meet.

Despatie and Heymans, both members of coach Michel Larouche's CAMO club, won bronze medals at the Rostock Grand Prix, adding to the historic gold won Saturday by teammate Myriam Boileau.

Despatie, 13, rebounded from a disappointing 17th-place World Cup finish in January to win the 10-metre bronze, even receiving a perfect 10 on one dive.

Heymans, 17, introduced two new dives to her list, yet still scored one of her best finals ever to finish third on the 3-metre springboard.

On Saturday, Boileau became the first Canadian in the Rostock meet's 44-year history to win a gold on the tower, not surprisingly calling the result "a big win for my confidence."

In 1983, Quebec great Sylvie Bernier won a 3-metre gold in Rostock, one of the sport's more important meets.

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