Zsombor-Murray leads a day of positives for Canadian divers at World Cup

MONTREAL – Canadian divers didn’t win any medals at the World Cup in Montreal on Sunday, but several athletes left the competition with personal bests and plenty of optimism.

Nathan Zsombor-Murray of the Pointe-Claire, Que., diving club finished fifth in the men’s three-metre springboard final, earning 468.05 points in his new discipline.

China’s Wang Zongyuan, a four-time Olympic medallist, won gold with 540.35 points. His compatriot Zheng Jiuyuan (495.15) followed him on the podium, as did Colombia’s Luis Felipe Uribe Bermudez (486.30), the bronze medallist.

“I had six good dives and my goal was to be consistent, so I’m happy. I’m always excited to dive in front of my friends and family in Montreal,” said the Paris Olympics bronze medallist in the 10-metre synchro.

Zsombor-Murray was joined by British Columbia’s Carson Paul, who upset the group on Friday by finishing third in qualifying.

He followed his teammate closely in the standings by finishing sixth with 459.20 points, the best result of his career.

“I was a little nervous after qualifying in third place,” Paul admitted. “I’m happy to have managed the situation well and to have made good dives. This performance will help me with confidence. It proves that I belong among the best.”

Canada also placed fifth in the two synchronized events held earlier Sunday.

In their first competition together, Mia Vallée and Amélie-Laura Jasmin first finished fifth in the three-metre synchronized event. The young team, which has only been training since September, accumulated 281.70 points.

“It shows good things for the future, but we’re a little disappointed, we wanted a medal,” said Vallée. “I’ve done a lot of synchro in my life and the calibre was very high today. The top teams didn’t miss a single dive.”

Shortly after the three-metre synchro event, Matt Cullen and Benjamin Tessier jumped from the top of the 10-metre platform in synchro. Respectively eighth and 10th in the individual event, they ranked fifth this time with a total of 390.45 points.

Both Canadians were in the top-three after their first four dives. They slipped to fifth place after that, ahead of Great Britain’s Ben Cutmore and Euan McCabe (399.12), as well as neutral athletes Nikita Schleikher and Ruslan Ternovoi (396.24).

With a total of 469.23, China’s Zhao Renjie and Yang Zhihao were crowned winners.

“We were in the race until the fifth dive. We really wanted the podium and we gave it our all. Unfortunately, there was a small gap in our technique and we didn’t finish the dive as we had hoped,” said Tessier.

Earlier, Kate Miller improved her ranking by two places on the 10-metre platform. Ninth after the qualifications, the Ontarian finished seventh in the final, totalling 309.40 points.

“I feel good, I’m pretty happy to have some good dives,” said Miller.

The Canadian is still focusing on the many positives, as this seventh place represents the best individual result of her career on the World Cup.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 1, 2026.