What will Meaghan Benfeito do without Roseline Filion?
3-time Olympic medallist moving on after retirement of longtime diving partner, friend
For the first time in more than a decade, Meaghan Benfeito is preparing for a synchronized diving competition without Roseline Filion.
Filion announced her retirement this week, ending a partnership that produced two Olympic medals and three world championship podiums since 2005 in the 10-metre synchro event.
Now Benfeito is entering a new phase of her career without her longtime friend by her side.
"It's been an emotional couple of days," Benfeito says. "I already knew that she was retiring but it really hadn't hit me until it was officially announced.
"We grew up together. We've been diving together for 11 years. I know exactly what she thinks, how she thinks, even before she says it to me."
On top of the bronze medals she won with Filion at the London 2012 and Rio 2016 Olympics, Benfeito also captured bronze in Rio in the individual 10m event — an achievement she feels Filion had a hand in.
"[Rosie] was so determined. If she can be determined, why can't I?," Benfeito recalls thinking. "She's also such a consistent diver. I learned a lot from that ... I learned a lot of dives that I wasn't comfortable with at all. She was very consistent with them. It helped me grow with her by my side."
When Filion told her she'd be calling it a career, the 27-year-old Benfeito also considered hanging up her suit.
"If you had asked me that question in 2012, I would have said that I would like to walk away [from diving] with Rosie," she says. "But after changing coaches to train with Arturo Miranda [four years ago], he motivated me more than ever. I decided in October 2015 that I would do four more years.
"My goal is to go to another Olympic Games."
Miranda — an Olympic diving teammate of Alexandre Despatie's at Beijing 2008 — says that Filion's departure leaves Benfeito with a unique challenge.
"The emotional side for Benfeito will be difficult," the Cuban-born coach says. "[It won't be easy] moving on from her colleague. She is like a family member."
Benfeito, a Montreal native, recently started diving with 17-year-old Caeli McKay in the fall of 2016. They'll make their debut on the 10m platform at the FINA Grand Prix opener in Rostock, Germany in late February.
Although the two have yet to compete together, Miranda believes the new challenge will bring out the best in Benfeito.
"Caeli is a very good athlete. Obviously, Meaghan is older but that is making her find a new level," Miranda says. "She needs to be as competitive as she was before. She'll need to remake herself with her new partner. It'll be good for Meaghan in individual and for synchro."
The transition to a new teammate has at times been challenging for Benfeito, but she is quick to point out the positives.
"I didn't know what to expect. Rosie and I grew up together," she says. "We did everything at the same time. I was a little afraid of [the change] at first because I had always told myself I wasn't going to do synchro with anybody else except Rosie.
"So far so good with Caeli. [Before] I was always the one asking the questions. I'm not used to being the oldest one. Caeli does ask a lot of questions. She motivates me to do different things.
"I'm enjoying it more than I thought."