Feeling stronger and healthier, Canada's Caeli McKay aims for the podium in Paris

Caeli McKay of Canada is introduced before the women's 10-meter platform final at the Montreal Diving World Cup on Sunday, March 3, 2024. (Christinne Muschi/The Canadian Press)

Canadian diver Caeli McKay doesn’t have very fond memories of the Tokyo Olympics in 2021.

McKay, a Calgary native who moved to Montreal as a teenager, severely injured her ankle before that year's Canadian trials, depriving her of landing an Olympic spot in the individual 10-metre platform event.

Then she and former partner Meaghan Benfeito experienced heartbreak at the Games, missing the podium in the synchronized event by just over half a point.

Three years later, the 25-year-old McKay returns to the Olympic stage in Paris fortified with a healthier body and a stronger mentality.

"Looking back on it, I learned a lot," McKay said. "The mental strength that I gained there, the things that I learned there and the power of the mentality has come through and is with me now — and I'm taking it to Paris.

"I'm really, really hungry now to go Paris and fight for a medal again with two good ankles and a relatively healthy body."

The women's 10-metre synchro event takes place on July 31, while the individual competition is set for Aug. 5 and 6 at the Paris Aquatics Centre.

Despite her young age, McKay is a veteran and mentor on a youthful Canadian diving team.

Two first-time Olympians join her on the women’s side, including 19-year-old Kate Miller of Ottawa, McKay’s synchro partner since last year.

Margo Erlam, a 22-year-old from Calgary, booked her spot by surprisingly beating out veteran diver Pamela Ware on the three-metre springboard at Canadian trials in May.

"I know they are hungry as well," said McKay, who’s affectionately called “grandma” by her teammates at the pool.

"As much as the age gap is not that huge, I did grow up fast. At 16, I was out of the house and living on my own — sometimes I feel like I'm 45. But it's nice to see the kids grow up and experience things that I’ve already experienced and guide them with issues they might have at the Games.

"I would love to be the person I needed to them."

McKay said she leaned on three-time Olympic medallist Benfeito as a mentor and also had the support of Montreal diver Vincent Riendeau, now her husband.

"He helped me realize that I had potential, and taught me how to get comfortable with myself on the international stage and find my own value," McKay said. "I was always feeling like the underdog.

"I wanna try to bring that to the girls who haven’t been to the Olympics yet. It's the first time for them, and they feel, not outshone, but there are a lot of stars there. But they have the right to feel special and that they are meant to be there.

"They are there for a reason and everyone is an equal at the Olympics."

In a sport where Chinese athletes dominate the podium, McKay prefers to focus on her performance at each competition.

She won bronze at the 2023 world championships in Fukuoka, Japan, against a group of rivals that will essentially be the same in Paris.

"My goal is always to medal," she said. "Individually and within my team with Kate, we have a good potential to medal if we do our dives the way we can.

"I wanna do all five dives as good as I can. I'm not looking for a score. For me, if I can just do five good or great dives, then I'll be up on the podium or fighting for contention."

Pulling that off would ease the pain associated with her experience in Tokyo, but McKay insists those Games helped change her perspective and made her realize there’s life outside of diving.

"As stressful as it has been, especially before the trials, I wasn't necessarily loving it. But I was able to bring it back and try to enjoy little bits of my days, things that make me feel happy when I'm diving," she said. "I don't have that fear of diving anymore, which is nice. I can actually stand on the platform and really try to enjoy it."

"I'm trying to stay positive and not have any regrets,” she added. "I'm going into Paris with the mentality of not leaving anything on the platform, just giving it all, bringing all the culmination of all the work I've done the past three years or even the past 20 years that I've been diving.

"I'm bringing that in and not letting negativity or fear or anything like that get in the way."

- This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 19, 2024.