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Canadian divers Filion and Benfeito win Olympic bronze medal in Rio

Aug 9, 2016 | 2:11 PM

RIO DE JANEIRO — Canadian divers Roseline Filion and Meaghan Benfeito have won a bronze medal in the women’s 10-metre synchronized event.

The two women, who also won bronze four years ago in London,  finished third with 336.18 points.

China continued to dominate in the dive tank as Chen Ruolin and Liu Huixia won gold with 354.00 while Jun Hoong Cheong and Pandelela Rinong Pamg were second with 344.34.

The Canadians were fifth heading into the final round, but a botched dive by the North Koreans opened the door to the podium for Filion and Benfeito. The duo nailed their final dive — an inward 3 1/2 somersault — for a score of 80.64.

The duo is half of the “Fab IV” on Canada’s diving team. Filion, Benfeito, Jennifer Abel and Pamela Ware all have medal potential in Rio. Abel and Ware missed the podium in the three-metre synchro by less than a point.

“Fab” is an acronym — F for Filion, A for Abel, B for Benfeito, and the Roman numeral IV is a stylized W for Ware.

All four women will now shift their focus to the individual events.

The competition is being held outdoors for the first time since the 1992 Barcelona Games. On Tuesday, the water in the pool turned a putrid green colour. There was no immediate word on what caused the colour change.

The Canadian Press

©2016 The Canadian Press