Pair of Sask. divers bring home national medals

It’s been a long climb to the podium for two Saskatchewan divers, but each reached new heights at the Senior National Championships in Windsor last weekend.

Saskatoon’s Rylan Wiens took home his first ever senior national title with a perfect dive on his final attempt. Regina’s Alyssa Clairmont took home a bronze medal – the first ever senior medal for the Regina Diving Club.

The 17-year-old Wiens has been diving for 11 years. He had himself quite the competition, leading the men’s open 10 metre category through the first four rounds.

“I do six dives and on the first one I was super nervous and then after that I kind of settled into the competition,” said Wiens.

But a falter on his fifth dive meant he would need to deliver on his final one.

“As I went up for my last dive I was super nervous again because I knew I needed a really good one to take the gold and I came out with what I needed,” Wiens said.

And that’s exactly what happened as he received 10s from five of the seven judges.

“As soon as I came out of the water, I just had a big smile across my face,”Wiens said. “I just couldn’t get it off for the rest of the day.

Those emotions were shared by everyone there cheering him on.

“Some of (my teammates) were tearing up, some of them were just super happy like cheering super loud,” Wiens said. “All of them were super supportive and happy that I was able to achieve that.”

Meanwhile in the women’s open one metre category, Clairmont was creating her own firsts.

The 17-year-old is in her eighth year of diving after making the transition from gymnastics.

“It’s always been a goal to medal,” Clairmont said. “The moment I knew that I had a chance to win a medal, I got super excited and then I had to calm myself down. It was a surprise to me but I was so happy.”

With a score of 252.80, she would end up finishing third to get onto the podium.

“I couldn’t stop smiling,” Clairmont said. “It was unreal, I was on cloud nine for the whole night and just the feeling of being one of those people that gets to stand on the podium – obviously I’m always proud of myself but the extra six inches of box you get to stand on is more than you’d ever think.”

The national awards are the result of hard work throughout the year for both divers.

Wiens came into the season with a gold medal goal already set.

“I’ve been training 27 hours a week for the entire year and in different competitions around the world getting experience and stuff,” said Wiens. “Just being able to put in the work day after day and not give up.”

Clairmont hopes the work and results she put in this season will help others achieve their dreams as well.

“Winning this medal, coming home and having all the younger divers congratulate me, it shows me that I’ve set an example,” said Clairmont. “If you set your mind to it and if you work hard enough you can achieve anything and I love being a role model for younger ones and showing them you can do whatever you want with diving.”

Both Wiens and Clairmont will compete at junior nationals in July.