It is sort of like diving’s version of hitting for the cycle.
“We’ve hit all the major Games — Olympics, Commonwealth, Pan-Ams and even some of the lesser-known ones such as FISU [World University],” said Victoria Boardworks head coach Tommy McLeod.
Boardworks divers Celina Toth and Bryden Hattie were named Tuesday to the nine-athlete Canadian team for the 2023 Pan Am Games in Santiago, Chile, with McLeod selected as one of the three coaches.
“It’s good to see us continue our level of success,” said McLeod, who has coached at the Saanich Commonwealth Place-based club since 1997 and been head coach since 2007.
Toth and Hattie also competed in the 2022 Birmingham Commowealth Games last summer and Toth in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. It follows a Boardworks history which has produced several Olympians and Commonwealth and Pan Am Games performers such as Riley McCormick.
“It’s been based on a lot of hard work, and smart work, combined with dedication and support from so many different sources,” said McLeod.
“Put those things together and good things are going to happen.”
Toth has fought back from a back injury, following the Canadian trials in May at Toronto, to be named to the team: “It’s been challenging to comeback but really motivating to see my name on the team list.”
Toth, 31, will be the oldest diver in the Pan Am Games, and also next year in Paris, if she qualifies for her second consecutive Olympics: “It definitely gets harder as you age but I try to own it.”
Toth’s career serves as inspiration to the next generation as Victoria Boardworks divers Renee Batalla, Jackson Congdon and Nikos Tzanetakis are representing sa国际传媒 this week in the Junior Pan Am Championships in Peru.
“We are proud that our divers continue to excel at both the junior and senior international levels, promising continued success for many years to come,” said Boardworks general manager and assistant coach Lisa Boog, from Peru.
“The next generation of young divers like Nikos, Jackson and Renee are fortunate to have Bryden [Hattie dives in NCAA Div. 1 for the University of Tennessee Vols and Celina [Toth] to look up to and realize they are on the same path as them to possible senior international success.”
The Pan Am Games, in Southern Hemisphere spring from Oct. 20 to Nov. 5, are a direct qualifier in diving to the 2024 Olympics. The gold medallists in the individual events at Santiago 2023 will earn a berth for their nations in the Paris Games.
The Canadian diving team includes five Olympians and five world championship medallists and was selected through results at the Canadian championships in May in Toronto. The team is lead by world championship medallists Caeli McKay of Calgary and Pamela Ware of Greenfield Park, Que.
“If [Toth and Hattie] continue what they are doing, and show up on the day, they are in good shape to qualify for Paris,” said McLeod, who will coach sa国际传媒 in Santiago, with Tong Hui of Montreal and Yihua Li of Pointe-Claire, Que. The Canadian team leader will be Mitch Geller, founder of the Victoria Boardworks Club.
More than 60 Island or Island-based athletes are expected to compete in the 2023 Santiago Pan Am Games. Island athletes won 17 medals in the 2019 Lima Pan Am Games, 20 medals, including 13 gold, at the 2015 Toronto Pan Am Games and 21 medals at the 2011 Guadalajara Pan Am Games.
