Release: Diving Team Nominated For Youth Olympic Games
July 3, 2014
DIVING PLONGEON CANADA NOMINATES TEAM TO PARTICIPATE AT THE 2014 YOUTH OLYMPIC SUMMER GAMES
Diving competition set for August 23rd–27th in Nanjing, China.
Ottawa – Diving Plongeon Canada is pleased to announce the two athletes nominated to represent Canada at the 2nd Youth Olympic Summer Games taking place in Nanjing, China, from August 16th to the 28th. Selection was based on results from the 2014 Youth Olympic Games Qualifiers, which took place in Guadalajara, Mexico this past March.
With only two divers born between 1996 and 1998 eligible per nation for participation at the Youth Olympic Games, Canada is sending a pair that possesses significant experience on the junior international level. Both Philippe Gagné (Montreal, QC) and Molly Carlson (Thunder Bay, ON) won medals at the 2013 Pan American Junior Diving Championships, and are consistent fixtures on the podium at Canada’s junior national diving championships.
| Name and Club | Hometown | Age | Event |
| Molly Carlson (Thunder Bay Diving Club) |
Thunder Bay, ON | 15 | 3-metre |
| Philippe Gagné (CAMO) |
Montréal, QC | 16 | 3-metre; 10-metre |
Andrée Pouliot-Deschamps (Saint-Lambert, QC) will be the coach accompanying the team to China. They will be joined by Canadian judge Sara Toth (Regina, SK).
Mitch Geller, chief technical officer at Diving Plongeon Canada, understands the potential these two athletes possess, but knows that the field will be very competitive in Nanjing.
“What we are looking for from Molly and Philippe is consistency,” says Geller. “It is very difficult to predict the outcome of this event since it is only the second Youth Olympic Summer Games, however what we do know from the qualifications in Mexico is that both divers have the potential to challenge for a medal if they perform a very clean list of dives,” added Geller.
In addition to the 3-metre and 10-metre individual events in Nanjing, a team event will be contested that groups one male and one female diver per nation and has them perform a combination of dives off both heights of boards.
While building up to the Youth Olympic Games, and to earn selection for the 2014 FINA World Junior Championships, Gagné and Carlson will be competing at the 2014 Speedo Junior Elite National Championships in Victoria, BC from August 8th to the 10th.
Philippe Gagné was also recently selected to Canada’s senior national team and will be competing in 3-metre synchro, and 10-metre synchro at the 2014 FINA Diving World Cup in Shanghai, China from July 15th to the 20th.
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About Diving Plongeon Canada
Diving Plongeon Canada (DPC) was established in 1967 as a not-for-profit organization to promote the growth and awareness of the sport in this country. As a member of FINA, the world’s governing body of aquatic sports, DPC contributes to the development of globally accepted standards of excellence in diving and supports the rules and regulations of international competition. Representing nine provincial diving associations, 67 local diving clubs and close to 4,000 high performance athletes, DPC shares a national commitment to advance the art and sport of diving and to position Canada as the number one diving nation of the world. For information, visit www.diving.ca.
Diving Plongeon Canada
Jeff Feeney, Manager, Events and Communications
jeff@diving.ca
Tel.: 613-736-5238, ext. 2101
Canadian Olympic Committee:
Jane Almeida, Senior Manager, Media Relations
Tel: 416-324-4120
Cell: 416-540-1788
Email: jalmeida@olympic.ca
Luc Beaudin
Coordinator, Communications and Media Relations
Cell: 514-206-6720
Email: lbeaudin@olympic.ca