Benfeito finds synchro diving success again with new partner McKay
Meaghan Benfeito felt bereft when her longtime synchronized diving partner Roseline Filion retired.
Benfeito and Filion won Olympic bronze medals together in both 2012 in London and 2016 in Rio de Janeiro. The friends had grown up together in the Montreal diving community.
"When she announced her retirement . . . I knew she was going to retire, but the feeling from when I started training in October of 2016 to the day she retired in January, 2017, I was a complete mess but without really knowing what was the problem," Benfeito told The Canadian Press.
"When she retired, everything just dropped in my body and I thought 'maybe that's what it was.' I knew it was coming, but I didn't really want to accept it."
Benfeito's new synchro partner Caeli McKay is a decade younger than Benfeito.
"We talked about a lot of things, more because I didn't really know how to handle doing synchro with someone else," Benfeito recalled.
"I was always very difficult on her, not necessarily blaming her, but there was always something wrong. On an 18-year-old, that must be super-hard.
"We were able to talk about it and really just move on and become a team ourselves.
"It's not Meaghan and Rosie anymore, it's Meaghan and Caeli and that's something that's very important to me."
Calgary's McKay (pronounced Mack-EYE) had moved to Montreal to train with the national diving team.
She'd grown up watching Benfeito and Filion compete in Olympic Games. Benfeito also won an individual Olympic bronze medal in the 10-metre platform in 2016.
McKay had to overcome feeling starstruck while proving herself a worthy partner for a triple Olympic medallist on the tower.
"I think for her it was hard because with Rosie she had so much comfort for 11 years," McKay said. "I was a newbie and she felt she had to teach me everything and take me under her wing.
"I tried to support her as much as I could, but I knew I wasn't going to necessarily fill Rosie's shoes and I don't think Meg wanted me to fill Rosie's shoes.
"We both agreed I wasn't going to be Rosie's replacement. It's going to be a new team, a new story and a new path for both of us."
Once the two women got past the getting-to-know-you phase, success came.
The duo won Commonwealth Games silver in McKay's first multi-sport games and finished fourth at the world championship in 2018.
They claimed Pan American Games gold a year later with Benfeito and McKay also taking individual gold and silver respectively in Lima, Peru.
After the COVID-19 pandemic halted international competition for months, Benfeito, 32, and McKay, 22, won an Olympic test event in May at the Tokyo Aquatic Centre.
With that result, they qualified both Canada and themselves to compete in the 10-metre synchro event at the Tokyo Games.
The Canadians take to the boards Tuesday in the synchro event before diving in the individual women's platform competition Aug. 4-5.
McKay is three inches taller than Benfeito, so Benfeito must jump from the tower with power in order to mirror her partner's dive.
"I have to try to jump higher," Benfeito explained. "I never had to do that with Rosie. We were the same height.
"Caeli is very strong as a diver. She's a little taller than me, so that helps me a lot to push even harder. That's something I do appreciate a lot and it also makes me a better diver today."
Dive Canada chief technical officer Mitch Geller says McKay was seen as a potential future partner for Benfeito even before Filion retired.
"What we have here is a more dynamic pair," Geller said. "I even think they're better matched than were Meaghan and Rosie . . . when I say better matched, it's the level of acrobatic talent in them.
"They are both very spectacular divers, the way they move is more similar. They're both very quick movers. Their entries are better matched in that they can both get in the water extremely clean.
"When you see Meaghan and Caeli do, for instance, a front three-and-a-half pike and perform a disappearing act when they hit the water, that makes your hair stand up."
Benfeito and McKay agree they can both be headstrong about training and competing.
"We're both stubborn, but in a sense we know how to comfort each other in the same way," McKay said.
"Doing synchro with her is really helpful for me, even in my individual (diving), because she has been through everything. She can give the advice that I need and the comfort in those situations."
Said Benfeito: "Caeli's been absolutely amazing. I can't thank her enough for just putting up with me."
-- This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 25, 2021.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
NEW After hearing thousands of last words, this hospital chaplain has advice for the living
Hospital chaplain J.S. Park opens up about death, grief and hearing thousands of last words, and shares his advice for the living.
Some Canadian families will receive up to $620 per child today
More money will land in the pockets of some Canadian families on Friday for the latest Canada Child Benefit installment.
BREAKING Iran fires at apparent Israeli attack drones near Isfahan air base and nuclear site
An apparent Israeli drone attack on Iran saw troops fire air defences at a major air base and a nuclear site early Friday morning near the central city of Isfahan, an assault coming in retaliation for Tehran's unprecedented drone-and-missile assault on the country.
American millionaire Jonathan Lehrer denied bail after being charged with killing Canadian couple
American millionaire Jonathan Lehrer, one of two men charged in the killings of a Canadian couple in Dominica, has been denied bail.
Ottawa to force banks to call carbon rebate a carbon rebate in direct deposits
Canadian banks that refuse to identify the carbon rebate by name when doing direct deposits are forcing the government to change the law to make them do it, says Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault.
Ontario woman loses $15,000 to fake Walmart job scam
A woman who recently moved to Canada from India was searching for a job when she got caught in an online job scam and lost $15,000.
Prince Harry formally confirms he is now a U.S. resident
Prince Harry, the son of King Charles III and fifth in line to the British throne, has formally confirmed he is now a U.S. resident.
Colin Jost names one celebrity who is great at hosting 'Saturday Night Live'
Colin Jost, who co-anchors Saturday Night Live's 'Weekend Update,' revealed who he thinks is one of the best hosts on the show.
Nearly half of China's major cities are sinking, researchers say
Nearly half of China's major cities are suffering 'moderate to severe' levels of subsidence, putting millions at risk of flooding especially as sea levels rise.