MONTREAL – More than 200 junior divers from 36 nations and every continent except Antarctica have been practising at the Montreal 1976 Olympic venue for the past three days in anticipation of the 2022 FINA World Junior Diving Championships. The event will begin this Sunday, 27 November, and continue through 4 December at the Olympic Park Sports Centre. 

The 24th edition of the biennial event will feature 21 finals over eight days. Athletes will compete in two age groups: Group A for divers ages 16 to 18 and Group B for those who are 14 and 15. Individual events will be held on 1m and 3m Springboards as well as the tower. Synchro diving will be contested on the 3m Springboard and 10m Platform.

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But on Sunday, in the first final of the entire event, winners will be crowned in the mixed team event. The Mixed Team will comprise at least one male diver, one female diver, and no more than four divers in total. Together, they will aim for the highest cumulative score over six dives (four individual and two synchro).

While powerhouse China will not be sending a team, there will be plenty of other elite divers to watch – some established and others primed to break through. Notable names in Group A include British 18-year-old Andrea Spendolini Sirieix, the 2022 European champion and 2022 Commonwealth Games winner on the 10m platform. 

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On the men’s side, American Josh Hedberg will be among the headliners in Group B. Already, at 15, he was a finalist on the 10m platform at the 19th FINA World Championships. He also won the FINA Grand Prix Canada Cup.

Many of the competitors will be ones to watch at the Paris 2024 and the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games.

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As for Canada, this edition of the FINA World Junior Diving Championships will mark the largest diving event in the country since Montreal hosted the 11th FINA World Championships 2005. That was 17 years ago, before many of these junior competitors were born.

Preliminary rounds will be free and open to the public. Tickets will be required for the finals only.