Swim Ireland’s divers have departed for Tokyo, Japan for their delayed final Tokyo 2021 Olympic Games qualifying opportunity at the FINA Diving World Cup.
The qualification event, taking place
at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre, will run across six days from May 1st – 6th with
places for the Games available in the 3m Springboard and 10m Platform.
The event was due to take place in
April, but was cancelled at the last minute and, thankfully, rescheduled to
start this weekend.
Rio 2016 Olympic Finalist Oliver
Dingley leads the team with Clare Cryan, Tanya Watson and Ciara McGing all
aiming to become the first Irish female diver to qualify for an Olympic Games.
Dingley and Cryan will compete in the
3M Springboard, while Watson and McGing will be entered in the Platform event.
Divers securing a semi-final (top 18)
place in each event will automatically qualify a place for their country at the
Games. This is the second and final qualification event for the Games, the
first, the FINA World Championships in 2019, allocated 12 qualification places.
National Diving Coach Damian Ball
said: “The divers are all as fit, healthy, and prepared as possible,
considering the current situation. The mood is positive around the poolside and
we are all excited about the challenge ahead. We have selected a team with both
youth and experience, which highlights our strong intention to qualify for this
year’s Olympics while also preparing for a team for the 2024 Olympic Games in
Paris.”
Rio 2016 Olympian Oliver Dingley
said: “I’m just looking forward to getting out and going to do some diving at a
competition. We haven’t competed in over a year and a half now.
“You never want to be overly confident,
but I’m in a good frame of mind – physically fit, mentally fit as well – so
really it’s six dives, one dive at a time and I could be at the Olympic Games.
Really it’s about keep your feet firmly on the ground, being patient and trying
to relax as much as possible.”
Clare Cryan, among the trio aiming to
become Ireland’s first female Olympic diver, said: “We’ve had a bit of an
uncertain few weeks with the competition being cancelled, and being unsure
about when it’s being rescheduled, so to have a competition again, and know
that we are going is really exciting now.
“We’ve all been working so hard, and
with everything going on with COVID, we’ve all had our own different battles to
be facing. We’re all looking good and feeling sharp, so it’s just really exciting
that we can go and show what we’ve been working on.”
Tanya Watson, who competes in the 10m
with Ohio-based Ciara McGing, said: “I’ve really enjoyed training in Dublin
with Clare and Ollie. I haven’t had a chance to train with them this long ever,
so that’s been great. Training’s been really good – I’ve been able to do all my
10m dives pretty consistently in training. I think overall training has been
really consistent here, from weights to the pool.
“I’m most looking forward to being
able to compete again and seeing everybody that we haven’t seen in over a
year.”
Press Releases will be issued daily.
Bios for each athlete attached. Video interviews available to download at the
link: Tokyo FINA Diving World Cup – Swim Ireland Divers
FINA Diving World Cup, 1st – 6th May
2021, Tokyo, Japan
Name Club Coach
Ciara McGing Ohio State University
Justin Sochor
Clare Cryan National Centre Dublin
Damian Ball
Oliver Dingley National Centre Dublin
Damian Ball
Tanya Watson National Centre Dublin
Damian Ball
Irish Divers Schedule
Monday, May 3 Womens 3M Springboard Prelims Clare Cryan
Tuesday, May 4 Womens Platform
Prelims Ciara McGing & Tanya Watson
Wednesday, May 5 Mens 3M Springboard
Prelims Oliver Dingley
For latest startlists and results
visit FINA Diving World Cup – Tokyo, Japan
Issued by Swim Ireland
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