Diving duo ‘over the moon’ with historic medal in men’s 10m synchro
After years of dreaming, divers Rylan Wiens and Nathan Zsombor-Murray have made their Olympic moment a reality.
The pair won bronze in the men’s synchronized 10m platform event on Day 3. It’s Canada’s first-ever Olympic medal in the event, and the nation’s first medal in any men’s diving event since Beijing 2008.
But Wiens and Zsombor-Murray are no strangers to making history in this event. They also reached the podium at the 2022 World Aquatics Championships in Budapest, the first Canadians to ever do so in the men’s 10m synchro.
“We have been visualizing this and manifesting it since 2022 in Budapest,” said Zsombor-Murray, 21. “We have been working hard at this for the last two years. We are over the moon.”
Zsombor-Murray has come close before; at Tokyo 2020, he and former partner Vincent Riendeau finished fifth. Both he and Wiens also competed in the 10m platform individual event three years ago, with Zsombor-Murray finishing 13th and Wiens placing 19th.
When Riendeau retired soon after those Games, Zsombor-Murray partnered with Wiens, and the pair found quick success. In addition to the world championship bronze in Budapest, Wiens and Zsombor-Murray won silver in the 10m synchro event at the 2022 Commonwealth Games.
Then came a setback, as Wiens suffered a neck injury that forced him out of the 2023 World Aquatics Championship. But he battled back and won silver alongside Zsombor-Murray at the 2023 Pan American Games.
For Wiens, who has the Olympic rings tattooed on his shoulder blade, the possibility of the podium was feeling closer.
“My last 17 years of being diving, and since we paired up three years ago, it’s been our dream to be here,” said Wiens, 22. “To have won [the bronze medal], that’s awesome.”
But as they always are in diving, the margins at Paris 2024 were extremely thin. After five of six rounds on Monday, the Canadians were in the bronze-medal position, though nothing was yet guaranteed.
“I knew it would come down to the last dive,” said Wiens. “Synchro is a tight event and I knew the Ukrainians and Mexicans, we were all neck and neck going into the final round.”
“It is always very tight,” concurred Zsombor-Murray. “In previous competitions they surpassed us by a point. The margins are slim and it is all about consistency.”
Indeed, it wasn’t until the Mexican pair came up just shy of the Canadians’ point total that they felt comfortable celebrating. The Canadians finished with 422.13, while the Mexicans put up 418.65, a difference of less than four points.
Their work in Paris isn’t yet done. Wiens and Zsombor-Murray will both be competing in the individual 10m platform event later on in these Games.
For now, with the weight of expectations lifted, the Canadians can adjust to the weight of Olympic medals around their necks.
“Amazing,” said Wiens, of his Olympic bronze. “It’s heavy. It’s pure.”
