Joey Payeur
Going into her final dive, it was all or nothing for Molly Carlson.
When she emerged from the water afterwards, the Fort Frances native knew she had won it all.
Carlson, 15, earned her first gold medal in national or international competition by winning the girls’ age 14-15 three-metre springboard event at the Union Americana De Natacion (UANA) Junior Pan American Diving Championships in Tucson, Ariz. on Saturday.
“I was real nervous,” admitted the current Thunder Bay resident.
“I knew I could hit the dive for some amazing scores, or I could not do good and have it go the other way,” she noted in describing her reverse 2.5 somersault tuck.
“I was thinking through both sides.
“But I stayed confident,” she added. “When I did it, I came out of the water crying I was so excited.”
And for good reason—her score of 60.20 was second-best of the eight competitors for the final round and gave her a total of 381 points.
That was enough to hold off Caeli McKay of Calgary, whose mark of 59.40 on her final dive boosted her to the silver medal with a combined score of 365.25.
It was a reversal of fortune for the two Canucks from the Speedo Junior Elite National Diving Championships in Thunder Bay back in July, when McKay slipped past Carlson in the final round to snatch the gold medal.
“It’s so great to be able to celebrate a 1-2 finish for Canada,” enthused Carlson.
Alison Gibson of Austin, Tex., who was on Carlson’s heels most of the day, struggled in her final dive with a mark of 50.40.
But even though it only was the fifth-best score of the round, Gibson still managed to nab the bronze medal with a total score of 362.20.
“Alison was third in the last Pan Am competition [in Medellin, Colombia in 2011] and I was fifth,” Carlson recalled.
“When I looked up in Tucson to see who was there, there she was,” added Carlson.
“I was, like, “Uh, oh, I’ve got some competition.’”
Carlson built a comfortable lead through the first five
mandatory dives of the event, finishing with the best score of the round four times and second in the other one.
Part of that group of dives was her reverse pike on her third attempt, which not only earned her the round’s best score of 47.50 but included the first mark of 9.0 she had ever received in competition.
“When I got that, I really knew I had a chance to win,” said Carlson, who trains three hours a day five times a week with the Thunder Bay Diving Club.
The degree of difficulty increased significantly for Carlson on her last three dives.
The first of those—a forward 2.55 somersault pike—turned out to be her lone bump in the road during the day with a mark of 50.40 that was just fourth-best in the round.
“I could have done way better,” Carlson admitted. “But I also knew I had a bit of a lead so I didn’t let it get to me.”
Carlson regrouped nicely to notch 48.60 on her second-last dive—an inward 2.5 somersault tuck, which was second-best in the round before coming up with her big finish.
“Caeli and I went for lower degrees of difficulty than some of our competition on those last three dives, so we had to be real good with our technique to get the best scores possible,” she explained.
The red-headed star on the rise picked up the diving bug at age nine from going to the pool and watching her older sister Megan’s swim practices with the Thunder Bay Thunderbolts.
Inspired by her older sibling, Carlson took the plunge—literally—and in her first year of diving won bronze at the junior nationals.
“Megan and Molly have a unique bond that I think helps them so much, always knowing someone is in their corner,” said their mother, Kat Trivers, who also has watched Megan develop into a nationally-ranked swimmer.
“They’re good kids,” she added. “I count my lucky stars every day. . . .
“Molly has handled her spotlight so well,” Trivers added. “She takes being a role model for her teammates very seriously and modestly.”
Carlson also credits Pamela Ware of Beloeil, Que., who won bronze in the three-metre springboard at July’s FINA world championships in Barcelona, Spain, as a positive influence.
“At my first Pan Ams, I roomed with Pamela and now she’s this huge superstar,” Carlson noted.
“She’s been a role model for six years. I hope one day to turn out like her,” added Carlson.
“She’s always there for me and always sends her support from anywhere she is in the world.”
Carlson now has her eyes set firmly on her next major event—the 20th FINA World Junior Diving Championships in Penza, Russia next September.
“It’s going to be my first year in a higher age group so it’s going to be really hard,” she admitted.
And after that?
“To make the 2016 Olympic team going to Rio de Janeiro would be really cool,” said the ambitious teenager.
“I’ll go to the trials for that one, although maybe just to get experience,” she noted.
“I think I have a more legitimate shot at the 2020 Olympic team going to Tokyo.”
