McKay fails to make splash in three-metre event

If Henry McKay wasn’t a nationallevel diver, he figures he’d have become a basketball player.

A day after making the equivalent of the big shot on his final dive to win the men’s one-metre gold medal Tuesday at the Canada Summer Games in Winnipeg, the Ottawa diver was denied big time for a return trip to the podium Wednesday night in the threemetre competition.

Montreal’s Peter Thach Mai was the decisive gold medallist, winning the final by almost 22 points with a score of 428.00. Victoria divers Bryden Hattie and Ryan Grover were second and third, respectively, with 406.40 and 384.10 points.

McKay, 17, lacked the consistency in all six dives that allowed him to win the one-metre title, finishing fourth with 374.25 points.

Representing the Nepean Ottawa Diving Club but training at the Toronto Diving Academy, McKay made a critical error on the entry of his second dive. Rebounding well on his third and fourth dives, he took himself out of medal contention with a mediocre fifth dive.

Meanwhile, Quebec will play for the gold medal Friday in girls’ U17 basketball, after outplaying Alberta 83-51 in the semifinals. Gatineau’s Marie-Leatitia Ziba counted three points for Quebec.

The Quebec boys’ U17 team made a late charge, but couldn’t match the girls’ performance and lost its semifinal 85-79 to Ontario. Quebec will chase the bronze medal Friday. Guard Khalifa Koulamallah scored seven points and pulled down four rebounds in a losing cause.

Today, Ottawa athletes have positioned themselves to win as many as five medals in four different sports at the Games.

McKay will attempt to win his second medal, when he competes in men’s platform diving.

Rowing could produce two gold medals. Carleton University student Hunter Amesbury of Burlington and Luke Gadsdon of Hamilton in men’s pair, and Mary-Jo Weir Weiss in the women’s eight with coxswain hope to repeat their qualifying showings by again producing superior times.

Shyvonne Roxborough posted the fastest qualifying time in the women’s 100 metres and is a serious threat for gold. Nyoka Maxwell, running with a painful right big toe, and Audrey Leduc of Gatineau also will be pushing for a podium berth.