Louis Daignault
Canadian Sport News for Diving Canada
VICTORIA, May 4, 2003 - Alexandre Despatie and Philippe Comtois, both of Laval, won the gold medal on men�s synchronized three-metres, Canada�s first ever international victory in the event, Sunday to conclude the sixth stop on the FINA Grand Prix diving circuit.
Despatie and Comtois totaled 324.00 points with Antonio Ally and Mark Shipman of Britain second at 303.36 and brother Justin and Troy Dumais of the U.S., third at 301.17. ��With the synchro events now in the Olympics it�s becoming more and more important,�� said Despatie, 17. ��Philippe and I are working hard at it because we feel it�s a medal opportunity for us at major events. I think when both partners are on the same page and want the same thing you can be successful at it.��
For Comtois, 26, it was his first international win since coming back from serious leg injury in April 2000 which cost him a berth at the Olympics. One of the dives they executed was the reverse 21/2 which is the dive on which Comtois suffered his accident.
��We were worried about that one,�� said Comtois, who trains with Despatie at Montreal�s CAMO Club. ��But it went well. We were consistent from start to finish. I think this was a big boost to our team to get this win.��
On men�s 10-metre tower, Leon Taylor of Britain took the gold with 481.56 points with Mathew Helm of Australia second at 468.78 and Robert Newbery of Australia third at 458.88. Despatie scored 400.11 for sixth spot. In the semifinal, he posted the day�s best score at 507.21.
��I don�t know what happened in the final,�� said Despatie, a silver medalist on three-metres Friday. ��My preliminaries were also average but I was able to suddenly put it together in the semi. I was happy to be able to get a least one solid round of diving in, and that�s what we�ll remember about this competition for the tower event.��
Christopher Kalec of Montreal was eliminated in the semifinal and placed 12th. Despatie and Kalec earned the two spots for the Canadian team on men�s tower for the 2003 World Aquatic Championships July 13-27 in Barcelona.
Martha Dale and Megan Farrow, both of Edmonton, were fifth on women�s synchro three metres.
Canada�s other medalists this weekend were Blythe Hartley of Calgary with gold on women�s three-metres, �milie Heymans of St-Lambert, Que., and Marie-�ve Marleau of Montreal second Saturday on women�s synchronized 10-metre while Heymans added bronze on both three-metres and 10 metres.
The other divers who qualified for the world team were Despatie and Arturo Miranda of Mississauga, Ont., on men�s three-metre with Comtois selected to compete in both synchro events with Despatie. Heymans and Hartley grabbed the two spots on both three-metres and tower for the women.
Australia finished first in the medal standings with three gold, a silver and two bronze followed by Canada ay 2-2-2 and Britain at 1-2-1.
The Grand Prix circuit moves to the Woodlands, Texas next weekend. Competing for Canada are Miranda, Dale, Farrow and Jeff Liberty of Calgary.
Put on line on May 4 by SVP
