Canada’s Jennifer Abel and Melissa Citrini-Beaulieu took the silver medal in the women’s three-metre synchronized diving event Monday at the world championships in Budapest, Hungary.
It was Canada’s first podium finish at the meet, which runs through July 30 and includes diving, swimming, synchronized swimming and water polo events.
The Canadians scored 323.40 points to finish behind the favoured Chinese team of Tingmao Shi and Yani Chang, which won gold with 333.30. Russia’s Kristina Ilinykh and Nadezhda Bazhina landed bronze with 312.60.
Abel, from Laval, Que., and Citrini-Beaulieu, from St-Constant, Que., only began diving together this season because of an injury suffered by Pamela Ware, who was Abel’s teammate at the 2016 Olympics. Ware has recovered and is also competing in Budapest.
This is the first world championship medal for Citrini-Beaulieu and the sixth for Ware. She won individual bronze in 2011 and collected three silvers and a bronze in synchro events with Ware, Emilie Heymans and François Imbeau-Dulac. Abel also took Olympic bronze in 2012 with Heymans.
Shi and Chang led from the first round and produced an almost-perfect forward 2½ somersaults, one twist pike in the fifth and final round to secure China’s ninth consecutive world title in the event.
Shi Tingmao and Yani Chang win gold for China at diving World Championships1:03
The men’s 10-metre platform synchronized final goes at 12:30 p.m. ET and can be streamed live at CBCSports.ca.
