SASKATOON — Kate Miller tuned out the noise around her. She showed mental toughness to claim the women’s Open 10-metre gold at the Diving Canada 2025 Summer Senior National Championships at the Shaw Centre.
After five rounds and surviving Katelyn Fung’s late surge, Miller garnered 349.50 points to rule the final event on May 24, while securing a berth to the 2025 World Aquatics Championships in July in Singapore.
Fung was fourth after the first round but consistently placed second behind Miller after that and saved the best for last when she scored five 9.0s in her final dive. However, it was not enough, as she finished with 342.90 points, while early leader Eloise Belanger had 304.25 for the bronze.
“I usually don't pay attention to the scoreboard or who's ahead of me. I only look afterwards when I'm done with my dives. I focus on what I need to do in each dive and accomplish what I think of doing. I focus on everything positive,” Miller told Â鶹´«Ã½AV.
“I like to self-talk. If I get frustrated, I must move forward, especially during competitions. If I have a bad practice run, it does not define how I will perform in the competition. I have to let it go. Positive talk is the most important, and do not dwell on doubt.”
The Ottawa-born Miller, a freshman at the University of Â鶹´«Ã½AVern California, said she usually has no game plan but follows the same dives she does during training, and executing them properly gives her an extra boost of confidence.
“The higher the risks, the higher the reward. Sometimes you miss a harder dive and are rewarded when you do it well. That is why my daily practice routine involves an hour of training on dry land and about two hours in the pool,” said Miller.
“I practise twice on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, and once every Tuesday and Thursday. My mindset is that I want to fix what I did wrong. I focus on certain things to improve the dive, and that's what I focus on at practice, which I've been doing before this competition.”
She added that she felt more comfortable this year compared to the 2024 edition, where nerves got the best of her and affected her overall performance.
“It's not as stress-heavy this year. When I was diving, I was diving to improve. And I will train harder and keep improving in the next four years,” said Miller, who will next compete in the 2025 Junior Pan American Games in August in Asunción, Paraguay, after Singapore.
Benjamin Tessler (450.20), Matt Cullen (426.35) and Luc Goertzen (424.75) were the top three on the men’s side.
The medalists in the women’s 3-metre platform were Margo Erlam (335.70), Amelie-Laura Jasmin (318.00) and Mia Vallée (300.60), while Carson Paul (462.80), Cedric Fofana (425.15) and Tazman Abramowicz (414.60) duplicated the feat on the men’s side.
Vallée struck gold on the first day of the competition in the women’s 1-metre event with 305.25 points, with Laura-Jasmin settling for silver (262.25) and Alexa Fung the bronze (253.50). Thomas Ciprick (379.30), Abramowicz (371.05) and Paul (358.50) were the men’s division medalists.
