Winnipeg diver captures silver at international meet

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This article was published 06/12/2022 (1053 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Winnipeg’s Anna Wylie managed her swirling emotions long enough to reach the podium this weekend.

Wylie, 15, captured a silver medal in the girls 15-16-year-old category at the 2022 FINA world junior diving championships in Montreal. Canada led all countries with 12 medals in the competition.

Wylie plunged from a daunting 12-metre platform, scoring 245 across her four dives.

The global event was just the third high-diving competition of her young career.

“I didn’t really think about the people watching, I was just focusing on my dive. I was very nervous… I was shaking,” Wylie said.

Wylie was in first place for most of the event until Ukrainian diver, Nelli Chukanivska, captured the gold medal with her final dive to win by a mere two points.

The Winnipeg teen’s third jump might’ve been her best of the bunch, performing a front-double half pike, which is one of her newest dives.

“I was actually pretty scared for that one,” she said.

Wylie expressed optimism around the notoriety her second-place finish will garner her among other junior high divers.

She’s proven to be one of the bright up-and-comers on the women’s side in the sport, taking home bronze at the Canadian junior national high diving championships in October to qualify for the world event.

Accompanying Wylie were training mates Adam Cohen and Alex Tiaglei, both 17, who competed in the boys 17-19 category, finishing in fifth and eighth place, respectively.

All three divers, led by renowned coach Dallas Ludwick through the Revolution Diving training program, have shown a knack for adapting on the fly, as they didn’t take up high-diving until February.

jfreysam@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @jfreysam