PARIS – A costly mistake kept Rylan Wiens off the podium, as the Canadian diver finished seventh in the men’s 10-metre platform Saturday.
The 22-year-old from Pike Lake, Sask. held third place after his first three dives, but a slight miss on his fourth attempt dropped him to fourth. A crucial error on his fifth dive, a back 3 1/2 somersault, ended his podium hopes.
“The level of competition was very high. I felt I had begun well with my first three dives. My fourth and fifth weren’t as good, but still, I’m very proud of my overall performance,” said Wiens.
Cao Yuan defended his Olympic title with a total score 547.50 points as China completed the first-ever sweep of all the diving gold medals at a single Games.
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Japan’s Rikuto Tamai took silver with 507.65 points, while Britain’s Noah Williams, with the highest-scoring dive of Round 5 and the second-highest of Round 6, surged into bronze at 497.35.
Wiens finished with a total score of 445.60 while Nathan Zsombor-Murray of Pointe-Claire, Que., was 10th at 404.90.
“It wasn’t the performance I was hoping for. I have no excuse. I felt good physically and mentally, but it just wasn’t my day,” said Zsombor-Murray.
“I’ll chalk it up as a learning experience. I really wanted to do better than I did today. But I did win one medal, and someday, when I’m older, I’ll be able to look at it and remember that at one time, I was a very high-level athlete. But right now, it’s hard.”
Wiens and Zsombor-Murray won’t leave Paris empty-handed after winning bronze in the 10m synchronized event last week.
“The medal probably makes it easier for me to accept finishing seventh today,” Wiens said.
Amid the Chinese diving dominance, world champion Yang Hao posted a surprisingly disappointing result, finishing last among the 13 divers at 390.20 points.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 10, 2024.