Jennifer Abel captures diving gold for Canada at Commonwealth Games
3-metre springboard title headlines 7-medal day in Australia
Canadian diver Jennifer Abel captured gold in the women's three-metre springboard final at the Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, Australia.
It's the first Commonwealth gold for Abel in the 3m individual event; the 26-year-old from Laval, Que., earned silver at the past two Games in the discipline.
Abel posted a final score of 366.95, edging Australia's Maddison Keeney by 0.4 points. Fellow Australian Anabelle Smith rounded out the podium.
It was a bounce-back performance for Abel following a fifth-place performance in the 3m synchronized event. Abel and partner Melissa Citrini-Beaulieu were first in the synchro final after three dives Wednesday, but the Canadians plummeted after a disastrous fourth dive by Abel.
Fellow Canadian Vincent Riendeau earned bronze in the men's 10m platform final. Australia's Domonic Bedggood won gold, while England's Matthew Dixon took silver.
Mixed results in basketball
Canada's men's basketball team needed a buzzer-beating three-pointer from Mamadou Gueye to beat New Zealand 88-86 and advance to the gold-medal game.
Four Canadians scored double-digit points in the game — led by a 22-point performance from Ammanuel Diressa — while Tall Blacks point guard Shea Ili led all scorers with 23.
The dramatic win guarantees Canada its first medal in men's basketball at the Commonwealth Games and a date Sunday with host Australia for gold. Canada did not enter a team at the Melbourne Games in 2006, the only other time basketball was on the program.
On the women's side, Canada lost its bronze-medal match 74-58 to New Zealand. Natalie Taylor and Charlisee Leger-Walker both scored 18 points for the Tall Ferns, who collectively shot 40 per cent from the field.
Ceejay Nofuente led the Canadians with 18 of her own, but the team struggled to connect from three.
Canadian wrestler injured in title match
Canadian wrestler Michelle Fazzari had hoped for gold at the Commonwealth Games. She left in a wheelchair with a silver medal around her neck.
The 30-year-old from Hamilton positioned her leg awkwardly early in Saturday's gold-medal match in the 62-kilogram class against defending champion Aminat Adeniyi. The weight of the attacking Nigerian didn't help.
Fazzari remained down, pounding the mat in obvious pain. Oblivious, Adeniyi wildly celebrated her gold medal, jumping into her coach's arms and running around with the Nigerian flag as the Canadian received medical attention to her right knee.
Fazzari, a bronze medallist at the 2017 world championships, had to be helped backstage. She came out to the medal ceremony on crutches with a giant wrapping on the knee. Backstage at the Carrara Sports Arena, a wheelchair awaited.
"It just exploded," Fazzari said of her knee. "I don't know exactly what happened yet and I'll just wait for our medical team to diagnose it." Fazzari had beaten opponents from New Zealand, India and Cameroon before her knee buckled. The knee had been an issue before and she had not competed since the fall.
"It's been a battle for her to get healthy ... We hope that's not as bad as we think at this moment and hope that she gets back on her feet and health again," head coach Tonya Verbeek said of the injury.
More hardware for Canada
Canadians earned seven medals on Day 10 of the Games to raise the country's total to 81. That trails only host Australia (186) and England (123) for total medals.
The Canadian team has set a goal of winning 100 medals before competition ends on Sunday.
Here the breakdown of Canada's Day 10 medals:
Gold
- Diving: Jennifer Abel — women's 3m springboard
Silver
- Boxing: Thomas Blumenfeld — men's 64kg
- Shooting: Grzegorz Sych — men's 50m rifle three positions
- Wrestling: Michelle Fazzari — women's 62kg
- Wrestling: Korey Jarvis — men's 125kg
- Wrestling: Jessica MacDonald — women's 50kg
Bronze
- Diving: Vincent Riendeau — men's 10m platform
With files from The Canadian Press