Canadian Sport News (CSN
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July 22, 2000

DESPATIE BRILLIANT IN DIVING VICTORY

THUNDER BAY, Ont.--Alexandre Despatie of Montreal scored three perfect
marks and broke his Canadian record Saturday in a remarkable performance on
men's 10-metre tower at the summer nationals diving championships.

Despatie, 15, scored 685.59 points to eclipse his previous best of 683.04 set at the Winter Nationals in 1999. He scored two perfect 10's on his
second dive, a 3 1/2 in tuck position and one more on his front 3 1/2. Christopher Kalec of Montreal was second at 615.96 and Canadian junior
champion Nicolas Leblanc made a it a clean sweep for Montreal's CAMO club
with 504.25.

"I'm a bit surprised because my training was not going well lately," said a
calm Despatie, preparing for both the world junior championships next month
in Calgary and the Olympic Games in September. "But I guess the motivation
of competition got me in the right frame of mind. It was great to see such
stability in my performance."

His score would have earned him the silver medal at the 1996 Olympic Games,
only seven points less than champion Dmitri Sautin of Russia.

"I've been feeling great and been injury free for awhile," said Despatie,
now with four Canadian tower titles. "I gained a lot of confidence today
but I won't put too much pressure on myself."

On women's three-metres, Eryn Bulmer of Calgary, ranked third in the world,
won with 548.88 points. Blythe Hartley of North Vancouver, B.C., was
second at 538.41 and Caroline Lauzon of Montreal third at 471.60.

"I missed a dive in the final and I'm a bit disappointed about that," said
Bulmer, heading to her second Olympics. "But overall I was consistent. The most encouraging factor was my performance in the compulsory dives
which are hard for me."

Competition ends Sunday with the women's 10-metre and men's three-metre.

Saturday's results at the summer nationals diving competition in Thunder
Bay, Ont.

MEN

10-metre (final): 1. Alexandre Despatie, Montreal, 685.59 points; 2.
Chistopher Kalec, Montreal, 615.96; 3. Nicolas Leblanc, Montreal, 504.28;
4. Erik Petursson, Calgary, 498.51; 5. Christian Picard, Montreal, 498.00;
6. David Kalec, Montreal, 484.05; 7. Kevin Geyson, Winnipeg, 447.99.

WOMEN

Three-metre (final): 1. Eryn Bulmer, Calgary, 548.88; 2. Blythe Hartley,
North Vancouver, B.C., 538.41; 3. Caroline Lauzon, Montreal, 471.60; 4.
Melanie Rinaldi, Montreal, 463.80; 5. Adrienne Bell, Pointe-Claire, Que.,
456.54; 6. Meghan Zack, Edmonton, 453.09; 7. Katherine Bortenlanger,
Calgary, 446.52; 8. Kelsey Patterson, Edmonton, 445.05; 9. Marie-Eve
Marleau, Montreal, 437.10; 10. Laura Knowles, Nepean, Ont., 427.29.