Mia Valley narrowly fails to advance in China's competition
Rewritten Article:
Mia Vallée stormed through the Knockout rounds in the 3m event at the 2025 FINA World Cup in Beijing, China, ultimately reaching the semi-finals. This final leg of the world circuit introduced a groundbreaking, three-stage elimination format where athletes went head-to-head in duels after three preliminary dives.
Winners moved on to the semi-finals, where they showcased two more dives, and the top two from each semi-final advanced to the thrilling final, with the scores reset for a round of five high-stakes dives.
Vallée strategically chose to perform her strongest dives against Cuban Anisley Garcia Navarro in the duels, ensuring her spot in the semi-finals by defeating her with a score of 195.60 to 171.90. However, her semi-final journey ended with a tough loss against Jia Chen (353.55) and Italian Chiara Pellacani (315.65).
Disappointed but resilient, Vallée shared her thoughts from the Chinese capital, "I missed my last dive, and that cost me my spot in the final. I'm a bit disappointed, but my other four dives were incredible, and I was really happy with them. I gave it my all."
She admitted, "It would have been fun to make the final, but my goal since the beginning of the year has been more about having fun and doing my best on my five dives, because that's what I can control."
In the nail-biting final, Jia Chen (382.05) snatched the victory, taking the top spot ahead of her compatriot Yiwen Chen (368.40) and Australian Maddison Keeney (359.15).
Unfortunately, Amélie-Laura Jasmin's day ended in the preliminary round after losing to the silver medalist, who scored an impressive 220.50 points.
Meanwhile, in the men's tower event, Benjamin Tessier faced off against Spanish Jorge Rodriguez Ledesma with Rodriguez Ledesma edging out Tessier with a score of 213.60 to 206.20. In the final showdown, Chinese divers Zifeng Zhu (571.90) and Zilong Cheng (542.30) secured the top two spots, leaving Canadian diver Cassiel Rousseau (499.65) in third place.
After a memorable run in Beijing, Vallée will head back to Miami to complete her master's degree in marine biology and begin her preparations for the Canadian Championships in two weeks in Saskatoon. The Kirkland diver aims to secure spots on the 1m and 3m boards in the team that will represent Canada at the World Championships in Singapore in July.
- Mia Vallée, a French diver, showcased her talent in the 3m event at the 2025 FINA World Cup in Beijing, reaching the semi-finals using a new three-stage elimination format.
- In a duel during the semi-finals, Vallée managed to defeat Cuban Anisley Garcia Navarro with a score of 195.60 to 171.90, securing her spot with her strong performance.
- During the final, Chinese diver Jia Chen, who scored 382.05 points, outperformed Vallée, taking the victory and the top spot in the 3m event. Despite her loss, Vallée expressed her goal of securing spots on the 1m and 3m boards in the team that will represent Canada at the World Championships in Singapore.
