Toth surfaces with Universiade bronze

The podium threepeat was sweet.

Victoria Boardworks diver Celina Toth scored her career hat trick World University Games medal Wednesday in Taipei, Taiwan.

Toth, a University of Victoria psychology major who dives at Saanich Commonwealth Place, won bronze on the women’s 10-metre tower. That adds to the collection Toth began when she won two medals at the last World University Games in 2015 at Gwangju, China.

Toth said her fortunes Wednesday swing on nailing her fourth dive in the finals, which was the most recent dive she had added to her repertoire.

“To put down my fourth dive … which was the newest dive for me and [one] I was really nervous about … so, to have that be one of my best scores today, was really exciting,” Toth said in a statement.

Toth’s medal was the ninth for Canada at the Summer Universiade. In just the first week, that bests Canada’s eight medals in total won at the 2015 Gwangju University Games.

Canada is currently 10th in the medals table of the 2017 Games.

Claremont Secondary-graduate Sarah Darcel, also out of Saanich Commonwealth Place, placed fifth in the women’s 200-metre individual-medley swimming final Wednesday. It was a solid result for the NCAA Pac-12 Cal-Berkeley freshman in her first major Games.

Also swimming for Canada in the Games are Victorians Jeremy Bagshaw out of Cal-Berkeley and Eric Hedlin from UVic.

Two Island athletes, Cole Peterson in the men’s 1,500 metres and Agnes Esser in women’s discus, qualified Wednesday for their finals at the Games in track and field.

Mill Bay’s Esser is a Frances Kelsey graduate and the Canadian women’s discus champion. She throws for the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers in the NCAA Big Ten Conference. Her qualifying toss at the Games was 52.69 metres. Esser, the Golden Gophers’ record holder and also an academic all-Big Ten, has the hammer throw qualifying rounds upcoming in Taipei as well.

Peterson, meanwhile, has really been coming on in the men’s 1,500 metres.

Other UVic track athletes competing in the Games are Tyler Smith in the men’s 800 metres and Sarah MacPherson in the women’s 1,500 metres.

Conor Morgan of Victoria continues to fight through an ankle injury in the men’s basketball competition of the University Games.

The Mount Douglas Secondary graduate, and Canada West MVP out of UBC, is a key to Canada’s medal hopes heading into today’s crucial pool-round game against Japan. That’s why the lanky inside-outside threat mostly sat in the 125-55 victory Tuesday over Hong Kong.

The Games run to Aug. 30.