Canadians Rylan Wiens, Nathan Zsombor-Murray win Olympic bronze in 10m synchro diving
1st time Canada has won Games medal in men's event; China takes gold, Brits silver
Divers Rylan Wiens and Nathan Zsombor-Murray captured Canada's second bronze and third medal overall at the Paris Olympics on Monday.
They scored 422.13 points behind China (490.35) and Great Britain (463.44) in the men's 10-metre platform synchronized final, the first time Canadians have medalled in the event at the Games.
It also represents the first Canadian men's diving medal since Alexandre Despatie's silver in 3m springboard in Beijing 16 years ago.
Wiens and Zsombor-Murray solidified their spot on the podium by scoring 79.68 points on the sixth and final dive — back 2 1/2 somersaults, 1 1/2 twists in the pike position.
They also came up big in the fourth round, delivering their highest score (83.25) on a dive with the highest degree of difficulty (3.7) — a 4 1/2 somersaults in tuck position.
"It still doesn't seem real," Zsombo-Murray of Pointe-Claire, Que., told CBC Sports. "I was pretty excited when I saw the scoreboard. After 16 years of non-stop hard work it's overwhelming."
WATCH | Wiens, Zsombor-Murray pick up Olympic 10m synchro bronze:
"I don't tear up very often, but I started to well up before we stepped on [the podium]," added Wiens, who hails from Pike Lake, Sask. "Looking up to my parents in the stands and my very first coach behind me, being able to share this moment with all my family who made it here is truly a moment I'll remember for the rest of my life.
"We worked for it. I knew we were maybe slight underdogs coming in [to the final] but we knew we had [the drive] in us. Getting on that podium was oh, so sweet."
Zsombor-Murray had trouble with his third and fifth dives while Wiens, the 2023 male athlete of the year at the Saskatchewan Sport Awards, struggled slightly with the fourth.
However, their steady performances kept them ahead of Mexicans Kevin Berlin Reyes and Randal Willars Valdez, who finished fourth with 418.65 points.
"You know for me it was unreal, surreal. There has been so much effort on the part of Nathan all these years, Claudia Perez, the mother of Zsombor-Murray, told CBC News reporter Jennifer Yoon. "An enormous number of hours dedicated to this, that it was a dream come true. We are very very proud.
"As parents, as a young kid, driving him and taking him to practice, helping him with his homework and just helping him to develop a routine. Because the number of hours he has to train and he has to dedicate his time also to his studies. Teaching him and going with him so he can learn the skills so he can balance both, training and school. That is a challenge in itself.
WATCH | Olympic medal ceremony: Men's 10m synchro platform:
Wiens and Zsombor-Murray clinched an Olympic berth in February with a fifth-place performance at the world aquatics championships in Doha, Qatar.
Both athletes understand the importance of having a strong support group.
"Friends and family at home, I love you guys," Zsombor-Murray said. "You're the best cheering squad I could ask for."
Zsombor-Murray's father Stuart said he saw his son put in the hard work at a young age.
"Nathan, I will give most of the credit to him, seriously, he told CBC News. "From infancy, he was the kind of child [that was] very easy. You could put him to bed as an infant and he would go to sleep. He wouldn't cry. No trouble. It wasn't hard."
Added Wiens: "The people around my neighbourhood, there were signs up all over the place. Thank you everyone for supporting me. It's that extra little bit of confidence and push that sometimes I need to get back on the horse and work hard. To know I had everyone here and at home [behind me] it's amazing. I'm so grateful."
WATCH | Canadian divers discuss their journey to achieving Olympic bronze:
They first began working together in Japan in practice at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics after Vincent Riendeau, Zsombor-Murray's then-synchro partner, injured his back in training.
Riendeau and Zsombor-Murray placed fifth before ending their diving partnership after two years, with the former retiring to concentrate on his university studies in electric engineering.
"As soon as we did that [practice] session … the goal is an Olympic medal in 2024," Wiens told The Canadian Press in June 2022.
The pair collected world bronze in 2022 and later stood atop the podium at the FINA Diving Grand Prix in Calgary.
"Synchronized diving comes easily to us," Zsombor-Murray of Pointe-Claire, Que., said at the time. "We're both strong as individual competitors, so when we dive together, everything flows well."
Wiens, who proudly displays a tattoo of the Olympic rings on his back, was asked if he'd add one for his bronze medal.
"I will keep the Olympic Rings as is and take this medal home and cherish it," he said.
WATCH | Wiens and Zsombor-Murray's medal moment, up close:
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With files from The Canadian Press
