Young diver wins first gold medal

You’re never too young to have Olympic aspirations.

Jordy Mceachern was just five years old when she became inspired.

Standing in front of the TV watching some of the world’s best divers compete at the 2008 Summer Games in Beijing was all Mceachern needed to get hooked on the sport.

“It just looked like a lot of fun,” said the now-nineyear-old Mceachern, who is a member of the Regina Diving Club. “I really wanted to try it ... Once I tried it, I just wanted to keep doing it.”

But because the sport was so foreign, Mceachern struggled to relay her newfound interest to her parents.

“Her mom originally thought she meant scuba diving,” explained Regina Diving Club head coach Laura Desautels.

“So there was a bit of confusion there at the beginning, but we’re glad they got all of that straightened out.”

In her fourth year with the club, Mceachern has made significant progress.

On Friday during the Western Canadian diving championships at the Lawson Aquatic Centre, she found herself competing in an older age group.

Unfazed by the promotion, Mceachern put together a solid performance and placed fifth overall among all divers in Group D, which is comprised of athletes who are two years older than her.

Mceachern’s score was good enough, though, to earn her first provincial title in her age group.

She also achieved her first ever national-qualifying score. One more qualifying mark will earn Mceachern a berth at the national diving championships slated for later this summer in Saskatoon.

Because there isn’t a Group E category at nationals, the only way Mceachern can qualify is to move up to Group D.

“I wasn’t nervous at all,” she explained. “I was more excited, I think.”

Desautels was proud of Mceachern, one her youngest competitors. The coach was slightly surprised, too.

The advancement in age groups as well as competing against some of the country’s better divers — the well-established Camo Diving Club from Montreal has sent some of its best athletes here this weekend — had Mceachern in the thick of things.

“Platform diving is her toughest event to qualify for and we didn’t really expect it to happen this year,” Desautels said.

“But she’s very confident and isn’t afraid to move up and compete with the older girls.”

The Western Canadian diving championships are to continue through Sunday afternoon at the Lawson.