Monday 12 June
2000
Montminy in
control
But Heymans has to battle ex-teammate for second
PAT HICKEY
The Gazette
 ALLEN MCINNIS,
GAZETTE / Anne Montminy shows winning form in women's platform event at Olympic trials.
|
As Anne Montminy ran away with the top spot in the women's
10-metre event at the Canadian Olympic diving trials, the drama was concentrated on the
battle for the second trip to Sydney.
Emilie Heymans used a strong finish to wrest the No. 2 spot
from Myriam Boileau in a battle of former teammates, who didn't always see eye-to-eye.
While both divers skirted around the issue after
yesterday's event, CAMO coach Michel Larouche said there were still some hard feelings
over Boileau's decision to leave CAMO and train in Calgary.
"Myriam left because of Emilie," said Larouche.
"They were rivals in diving and outside diving.
"It was good to see Emilie come out ahead today."
Heymans assured herself of a trip to Sydney by attempting
the most difficult list of dives - and performing well.
"Her second and third dives weren't very good, but she
came up with big dives at the end when she needed them," said Larouche.
Heymans posted the two highest scores of the night, with an
81 on a forward 31Ú2 somersaults in pike position, and a meet-high 88.74 on her final
dive, a 21Ú2 somersaults with a twist and a half.
"It's a difficult program, but those are the dives I'm
comfortable with," said Heymans, adding that making the Olympic team was more
important than beating Boileau.
Boileau led after the morning preliminaries, but fell apart
in the evening. She never scored higher than an 8 out of a possible 10 and finished well
behind Heymans.
Montminy had the best total score of the day, riding a
consistent performance to a score of 926.94. Heymans was at 871.17, while Boileau scored
820.71.
"I felt very comfortable in the final," said
Montminy, who has her sights set on a medal in Sydney. The 25-year-oldPointe Claire Diving
Club star said she thought her performance in the trials would have been good enough to
land her on the podium at the Olympics.
Most of the divers are looking forward to a week off after
the trials and Montminy said she was looking forward to at least two competitions before
September.
"I have the summer nationals and then I'll compete in
an international meet in Europe," said Montminy. "Competing internationally is a
yardstick. It gives you an idea of where you stand. Just competing at home can be
deceiving, because the competition might not be as strong and the judging might not be as
tough. Competing outside your country can be humbling, although you hope it isn't."
While most divers have their lists set for Sydney, Montminy
said she might add one twisting dive to her repertoire.
"It's scary adding a new dive, but the girls are all
saying how easy this one is, so maybe I'll give it a try. I added an armstand dive last
year and it was hard work, but I'll give it a try."
Dive Calgary added a third member to the Olympic team when
Jeff Liberty dominated the men's three-metre qualifying.
"I had things going my way until the last dive,"
joked Liberty, who literally made a big splash on the forward 21Ú2 somersaults with a
twist. But by then, he was so far ahead that it didn't matter. He was joined on the
Olympic team by Arturo Miranda of Edmonton, a former Cuban champion who was returning to
competition after eight years of inactivity.
Miranda had a more difficult time before edging Alexandre
Despatie of the host CAMO club. Miranda's training had been interrupted by a shoulder
injury and he had to go down to his final dive before edging Despatie, who had qualified
earlier in the men's 10-metre event.
Reprinted with permission
Back to Diving
Index |
