Canadian diver Rylan Wiens earns 2nd Olympic spot this week at aquatics worlds
CBC
Following a brief illness, Rylan Wiens was beaming on the pool deck after clinching his second spot for the Paris Olympics this summer.
The 22-year-old diver from Pike Lake, Sask., scored 75.20 in the sixth and final round of the men's 10-metre platform event on Saturday, surpassing the 480 points needed for Olympic qualification by 9.2.
"I went out there and just gave it my all, had a great time," Wiens, who placed fifth in the field of 12, told Diving Canada. "I'm exhausted.
"I think this is the first time in my life I was speechless after [a competition]. The whole week I had lots of expectations … lot of goals and minus a medal I achieved everything I wanted.
"I got sick during the week, didn't train for a couple of days, came back, couldn't do a handstand for a while, but I knew what I had to do. I'm just so happy and proud."
Wiens, who was ninth in 10m platform at 2022 worlds, missed last year's competition in Fukuoka, Japan with a back injury.
Yang Hao of China won Saturday for a sixth career gold at worlds. He scored 564.05 to beat fellow countryman Cao Yuan (553.20) and Ukraine's Oleksii Sereda (528.65).
Wiens had a breakout performance at the 2021 World Cup in Japan where he won individual bronze in the 10m platform before a 19th-place effort later that year in his Tokyo Olympic debut.
Wiens, who earlier this week was named 2023 male athlete of the year at the Saskatchewan Sport Awards, missed out on a bronze medal at the Pan Am Games last October in Santiago, Chile.
Nathan Zsombor-Murray of Pointe-Claire, Que., was ninth in Saturday's competition (452.25) but had previously clinched an Olympic berth.
On Thursday, Wiens and Zsombor-Murray secured an Olympic spot in men's synchronized 10m platform, placing fifth.
WATCH | Full coverage of men's 10-metre platform final from Doha:
Elsewhere, Canada is one step closer to Olympic qualification in women's water polo.
The 15-member team will face Spain at 9:30 a.m. ET in Monday's quarterfinals after a 14-12 victory over New Zealand in a crossover match on Saturday at the World Aquatics Championships in Doha, Qatar.
Canadian Paralympic Committee CEO Karen O'Neill acknowledges the team’s showing at the Milano-Cortina Winter Games wasn't the same as past years.
Canadian Para alpine skier Kalle Eriksson and guide Sierra Smith capped their memorable Paralympic debut with bronze in the men's visually impaired slalom on Sunday at the Milano-Cortina Games.
Canadian skip Kerri Einarson looked up Saturday and saw real people, instead of cardboard cut-outs, in the stands at Calgary's WinSport Event Centre. She heard the roar of the crowd instead of the sound of flushing toilets piercing the silence.
Aaron Judge doubled and Pete Crow-Armstrong and Brice Turang each had two hits as the United States beat Canada 5-3 on Friday night in Houston to reach the World Baseball Classic semifinals.
Canada's Natalie Wilkie captured her second biathlon gold of the Milano-Cortina Paralympics on Friday, winning the women's standing sprint pursuit for her fourth medal in as many events.
Canada made wheelchair curling history on Thursday as the first team at any Paralympics to complete round-robin play without a loss.
The winningest men's ski cross racer in history added to his total on Thursday.
Canada's Mark Arendz collected his 14th career Paralympic medal while teammate Brittany Hudak earned her fourth in Wednesday's standing cross-country skiing races at Milano Cortina.
Alphonso Davies covered his face with his shirt as he left the field with an injury in Bayern Munich's game against Atalanta in the Champions League on Tuesday in Bergamo, Italy, raising questions about the Canadian star's availability for the World Cup.
Canadian Para nordic skiing star Natalie Wilkie has now won a medal of every colour at the Milano-Cortina Paralympics, adding bronze in the women's standing sprint classic on Tuesday in Val di Fiemme.
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Canadian Para alpine skier Kalle Eriksson and guide Sierra Smith continued their impressive Paralympic debut on Monday by racing to bronze in the men's visually impaired super-G for their second medal.