Meaghan Benfeito, Caeli McKay win diving gold to book Tokyo Olympic spots
Canada's high-diving duo prevail in women's 10-metre synchro in Japan
Canada's Caeli McKay and Meaghan Benfeito won gold in women's 10-metre synchro at a diving World Cup event in Tokyo on Sunday.
The high-diving duo also secured an Olympic spot after scoring 305.94 points to top the podium.
Benfeito, a Montreal native, and Calgary's McKay were joined on the podium by Great Britain's Louis Toulson and Eden Cheng (302.88) and Tina Punzel and Christina Wassen (292.86) of Germany.
Benfeito and McKay's big win marks Canada's first gold and third medal at the six-day event, which serves as a test event for the Tokyo Games.
WATCH | Benfeito, McKay campture gold and Olympic berth for Canada:
On Saturday, Jennifer Abel and Melissa Citrini-Beaulieu won Canada's first medal of the event with silver in women's synchro, while Vincent Riendeau and Nathan Zsombor-Murray earned an extra ticket to Tokyo for Canada with bronze in men's 10m synchro.
Besides Canada, Great Britain and Germany, the fifth-placed Mexican duo of Alejandra Orozco and Gabriela Agundez also booked an Olympic berth, but not sixth-place Russia.
On the men's side, Canadians Philippe Gagne of Ville Mont-Royal, Que., and Thomas Ciprick of Baie D'Urfe, Que., withdrew from the three-metre synchro event due to injuries and health concerns unrelated to COVID-19.
Gagne also withdrew from the individual event set to take place later this week, and is returning to Canada.
Ciprick is expected to compete in the men's individual three-metre event where he hopes to lock up an Olympic berth.
With plenty of Olympic spots still up for grabs, CBC Sports will be living streaming the event from Tokyo. The action continues Tuesday with women's 3m finals at 2:45 a.m. ET, followed by men's 10m at 4:45 a.m. ET.
With files from The Canadian Press
