June 9, 2000

DIVERS DESPATIE AND BULMER HEADED FOR SYDNEY

MONTREAL- Alexandre Despatie and Christopher Kalec, both of Montreal, Eryn
Bulmer of Calgary and Blythe Hartley of North Vancouver, B.C., all
qualified for the Olympic diving team Friday in opening day competition at
the team trials.

On men's 10-metre tower, Despatie, who turned 15 this week, earned 1,043.25
points for the gold medal. Kalec followed at 1002.46, Tony Revitt of
Delta, B.C., was third at 979.47 while Nicolas Leblanc, 16, was fourth at
845.82. They were the only four entries.

"It's a dream that becomes reality, I can hardly believe it," said
Despatie, Canada's male junior athlete of the year in 1998 and 1999. "I
haven't thought about my Olympic goals yet. That's something I'll start
thinking about when I get back into training."

Kalec, 20, posted a personal best score to win the second spot.

"I don't think it's hit me yet," said Kalec. "I had a good practice last
night and that made me feel more relaxed for the competition."

On women's three-metre, Bulmer, Canada's most consistently successful
international diver since the last Olympics, won the competition with
872.43 points and qualifies for her second Games. Hartley, the world
junior champion, finished second at 846.18 while Emilie Heymans of
Montreal took third spot at 818.73.

"I was especially pleased to handle the mental aspect so well today," said
Bulmer, 23, currently ranked third in the world. "There was enormous
build-up heading into the trials and I was pretty nervous in the
preliminaries. But for the finals I had gained confidence and I was
excited."

Hartley, 18, becomes the second Olympian in her family. Her father
Michael was a member of the 1972 Olympic bobsleigh team.

"My Dad didn't give me any advice because he knows nothing about diving,"
said the Calgary-based Hartley, who won five international medals last
season. "But it's very neat that I've achieved the same heights as him in
sport. It's a special day for our family."

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

Friday's results at the Olympic team trials in diving in Montreal:

MEN

10-metre (final): 1. Alexandre Despatie, Montreal, 1,043.25 points; 2.
Christopher Kalec, Montreal, 1,002.46; 3. Tony Revitt, Delta, B.C., 979.47;
4. Nicolas Leblanc, Montreal, 845.82.

WOMEN

Three-metre (final): 1. Eryn Bulmer, Calgary, 872.43; 2. Blythe Hartley,
North Vancouver, B.C., 846.18; 3. Emilie Heymans, Montreal, 818.73; 4.
Anne-Josee Dionne, Montreal, 786.09; 5. Kari Frank, Calgary, 720.15; 6.
Melanie Rinaldi, Montreal, 705.63; 7. Megan Farrow, Edmonton, 655.20; 8.
Alida DiPlacido, Pointe-Claire, Que., 649.65; 9. Marie-Eve Marleau,
Montreal, 616.83.

June 11, 2000

FOUR MORE DIVERS QUALIFY FOR OLYMPICS

MONTREAL-- Anne Montminy of Pointe-Claire, Que., earned her third trip to
the Olympic Games Sunday winning a stress-filled women's 10-metre tower at
team trials in diving.

Emilie Heymans of Montreal grabbed the second spot while on men's
three-metre Jeff Liberty of Calgary and Arturo Miranda of Edmonton earned
the Olympic berths. Eight different divers captured the eight available
spots this weekend.

Montminy, second at the FINA World Cup this past January at the Olympic
pool in Sydney, built a solid lead through preliminaries and semi-finals and totalled 926.94 points for the gold.

"They say third time's a charm and I hope that is the case for me at the
Games," said Montminy, 25. "I was very nervous throughout competition and
I didn't feel I had a safe lead at anytime. I've been at trials before but
never against this kind of competition. You couldn't make mistakes."

Heymans, fourth at the World Cup, won a heated battle for the second and
last Olympic spot with 871.17. Myriam Boileau of Montreal, the 1997 World
Cup champion, was a heartbreaking third at 820.71.

Heymans, 18, said her diving list, regarded among the most difficult in the
world, made the difference.

"I did my last two dives very well and that's what saved me," said Heymans.
"It was one of the most difficult competitions I've ever been involved in.
I prepared myself the same way as usual. I didn't want to change my
tactics for this event."

On men's three-metre, Liberty captured the gold medal with 1,015.77 points.
Miranda overcame an injured right shoulder to finish second at 961.02. He
grabs the second and last Olympic spot in the event.

"I'm so happy right now I can't describe it," said Liberty. "This morning
I was pretty nervous but after the first couple of dives went well I was
better. I'm hopeful I can make the final (top-12) at the Olympics."

Miranda's last international competition before this year was in 1991 with
Cuba. The 29-year-old married a Canadian who was a consultant to the Cuban
tourist industry and moved to Toronto when his wife's contract expired in
1995. He started coaching but decided last year to re-ignite his Olympic
dream.

"I sacrificed a lot of things for this because I thought it was possible,"
said Miranda, who missed a week and half of training last month after he
injured his shoulder at an international meet in Mexico. "I still haven't
regained my full confidence yet in the sport but I'm working on it. And my
performance today was not what I wanted but my shoulder really bothered me.
It feels like it's about to fall off."

Alexandre Despatie of Montreal, who qualified for the Games on 10-metre
Friday, was third at 951.60 and Mike Gowdy of Victoria fourth at 879.18.

The other Olympic team qualifiers are Eryn Bulmer of Calgary and Blythe
Hartley of North Vancouver on women's three-metre and Christopher Kalec of
Montreal who joins Despatie on men's 10-metre.

Canada also qualified for the Games on women's synchronized three-metres
and 10-metres. The pairs will formed among this weekend's qualifiers and
announced at a later date.

Sunday's results at the Olympic team trials in diving at Montreal:

MEN

Three-metre: 1. Jeff Liberty, Calgary, 1,015.77 points; 2. Arturo Miranda,
Edmonton, 961.02; 3. Alexandre Despatie, 951.60; 4. Mike Gowdy, Victoria,
879.18.

WOMEN

10-metre: 1. Anne Montminy, Pointe-Claire, Que., 926.94; 2. Emilie Heymans,
Montreal, 871.17; 3. Myriam Boileau, Montreal, 820.71; 4. Blythe Hartley,
North Vancouver, B.C., 791.58; 5. Caroline Lauzon, Montreal, 736.59; 6.
Marie-Eve Marleau, Montreal, 699.99.


Canadian diving team to be nominated for Canadian Olympic Games team:

Men: Alexandre Despatie, Montreal (10-metre); Christopher Kalec, Montreal
(10-metre); Jeff Liberty, Calgary (three-metre); Arturo Miranda, Edmonton
(three-metre).

Women: Eryn Bulmer, Calgary (three-metre); Blythe Hartley, North Vancouver,
B.C. (three-metre); Emilie Heymans, Montreal (10-metre); Anne Montminy,
Pointe-Claire, Que. (10-metre).