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Vincent Riendeau, Jennifer Abel crowned champions at winter nationals

Dec 15, 2018 | 5:42 PM

VICTORIA — Vincent Riendeau won the men’s 10-metre event, while Jennifer Abel posted a decisive victory in the women’s three-metre on Saturday at the winter nationals diving competition.

Riendeau, from Pointe-Claire, Que., scored 486.50 points to finish ahead of Victoria’s Bryden Hattie (460.10) and Nathan Zsombor-Murray of Pointe-Claire, Que., (417.10).

Riendeau, a 2016 Olympian, was sitting fourth in the preliminaries, but pulled out the win with the third best score of his career in the final.

“I picked up the intensity for the final,” said Riendeau.

“I tried a different approach in the prelims and I learned that wasn’t a good idea. In the final, I was able to keep focused on the elements I’d been working on in training, such as my entries on my frontward dives.”

Meanwhile, Abel, from Laval, Que., finished with big scores on her three last dives to take the Canadian title with 368.55 points. Montreal’s Eloise Belanger was second (281.01) while Montreal’s Olivia Chamandy rounded out the podium (280.35).

“It’s a nice way to head into the holidays,” said Abel, a three-time Olympian who won bronze in 2012. “I was really pleased with how I approached the competition and how I kept my concentration when I was on the board.”

The winter nationals are part of the qualifying process for the FINA World Championships this summer which in turn are an Olympic qualifying event.

The Canadian Press