PARIS — For a second Olympic Games in a row, Canadian diver Caeli McKay finished one spot short of the podium, although this time with a different partner.
McKay, who is from Calgary, narrowly missed out on the bronze by a half-point in women’s 10-metre synchronized platform when paired with Meaghan Benfeito in Tokyo.
It wasn’t as close this time, with a roughly five-point difference separating her and Ottawa’s Kate Miller from the third-place winners, Great Britain’s Andrea Spendolini Sirieix and Lois Toulson.
Still, it was just as heartbreaking for McKay, who held back tears as she remarked that fourth place is the hardest to accept at the Olympics.
“Fourth place was heartbreaking by point-five,” McKay said. This was five points at least, it wasn’t as close. But I can’t really say much more,” McKay said. “If we had these five dives and we were in fifth, I think we would feel maybe a little different than in fourth. Fourth is the hardest place to be at the Olympics.”
The Canadians were in third place before the fifth and final round of dives, when Spendolini Sirieix and Toulson performed their best dive of the competition, while McKay and Miller appeared to slip up on their synchronization. The Canadian pair finished with a total of 299.22 points over the five dives.
China’s Chen Yuxi and Quan Hongchan dominated the competition with 359.10 points. The pair from North Korea, Jo Jin Mi and Kim Mi Rae, finished second with 315.90 points, and Great Britain third with 304.38.
“Kate and I looked at each other before the last dive and we were just, ‘Go for it.’” McKay, 24, told CBC moments after the heartbreak. “I think we both knew that we were in a good position to possibly medal.
“That was our all, and that’s all we could ask for. Unfortunately it wasn’t on the podium.”
And then the Dive Calgary grad got emotional.
“I’m really proud of us and the team,” added McKay, taking a moment to fight and talk through tears. “Fourth place — again — is the hardest, but it doesn’t take away from anything from our careers … I’m just really happy that we were able to be here together.”
Both McKay and Miller compete in next week’s 10m platform individual discipline set for Monday — with the preliminary (2 a.m. MT) and semifinal (7 a.m. MT) — and Tuesday — with the final (7 a.m. MT).
Also among locals on Wednesday:
• Calgary’s Rae Lekness and Canada topped China 12-7 in water polo. It was the Canadians’ second game in Pool A preliminary action, lifting them to a 1-1 record.
— The Canadian Press