Interview: Filion tumbling to glory

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  • Making a splash: Roseline Filion has her eyes set on Rio 2016.

    For the past three decades, diving has emerged as one of the more popular sports in Canada and Roseline Filion has ridden the crest of that wave of talent coming out of that part of the world.

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    Following in the footsteps of her compatriot Sylvie Bernier, who won gold in the 1984 Games, Filion got on the Olympic podium in London 2012, claiming bronze in the 10m synchro with her partner Meaghan Benfeito. They also won silver together at Worlds in Barcelona in 2013 and gold at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow last year.

    This season, Filion and Benfeito celebrate their 10-year anniversary competing together – the longest partnership in the sport’s history.

    Sport360° caught up with Filion in Dubai last week to know more about her quest for Olympic gold.

    How are you feeling this early in the season?

    I’m feeling great. I’ve been training for a long period of time before starting the international circuit. I was in Germany in February just to warm up a little bit to the crowd and starting strong with the World Series. My diving is improving.

    How different is your training when it’s a World Championship year like this season, and with the Olympics coming up next year?

    We’ve increased training a little bit because we know the Olympics are approaching and we’re in the final stage of preparation. The dives are in, it’s just fine-tuning, and competing, competing… the World Series are good for the opportunity of competing six times and get adjusted to jetlag and traveling and all that stuff. So we build endurance and it’s the key to make everything for the World Championships.

    You can qualify for the Olympics through the World Championships, do you have a lot of competition for that, or is your spot more or less secure?

    Oh, yes. To secure a spot for my country, individually we have to be top 12 and in synchro we have to be top three. So it’s very hard.

    We have another champion at World Cup in February in Rio. The placing will be different, but we want to get this done first time around and focus on the entire Olympic season to fine-tune and be ready for the Games.

    You’ve had great success in synchro, how did you end up specialising in that event?

    2015 is a special year for synchro, for Meaghan Benfeito and I, because we are celebrating our 10th year in the partnership. It’s never been seen in the history of international diving – we’re the longest partnership ever.

    It’s very special for us to compete this year, remembering all the memories we’ve built so far. We started at the world championships in 2005 in Montreal with a medal, so I hope we keep going with our success, we’re still improving and looking forward to the upcoming season.

    How do you think your partnership survived such a long time? Did you guys ever fight and say you didn’t want to do it anymore?

    We never doubted that we wanted to continue to do synchro together. We spend all day, every day almost together, so sometimes we fight, it’s normal, everybody does.

    But at the end the day we’re such a great team, we understand each other, we don’t have to say a word and we’ll understand how the other one feels. So I think that’s how our partnership works.

    We communicate very well, we know each other inside and out. We trust each other and trust our diving, so that’s what makes it so successful.

    Do you remember where you first met Meaghan?

    We met at least 15 years ago. We started diving at the same time. I was in a different club at that time, but I moved to the club where she was training. I remember going to kids’ birthday parties with her, we’ve been friends for over 15 years.

    Pretty much every diver in the world is competing with the Chinese, or seem like they’re in a league of their own sometimes. What’s it like for you trying to squeeze yourself onto that podium between them?

    This is what we train for. We know they’re really good and really strong. But we’ve seen that they’re humans, they can miss, they can not do well and we’re trying to train extremely hard and train as perfectly as we can to improve and just to put pressure on them to see how they react, and see how good we’ve become.

    It’s doable. They have not won all the events at the Olympics and the world championships, so it is possible and I think we’re getting there. 

    When you travel to the World Series spots, do you feel that these competitions are popularising diving in the areas you’re going to, or do you compete in empty arenas?

    I think the World Series is doing a great job in raising the profile of the sport. We hear about diving more and more. I think we’re getting to a place where it’s a little bit like tennis, where there are a lot of people interested and coming… becoming more and more high performance, professional, and a little high-end thing to watch to diving.

    FINA is doing an amazing job and just to host a World Series, it’s prestigious. So if we put out there that diving is prestigious, people will get into it, and it’s so fun to watch.

    In Canada, diving is one of the mostwatched sports in the Olympics and I think it’s not only in Canada. So it’s getting there.

    Do you get stopped on the street back home in Canada?

    Sometimes I get stopped ‘oh are you that diver?’ I look really different with dry hair and dress, people know me with wet hair and a speedo on.

    But I think we get that renown, diving in Canada has had years of success, Sylvie Bernier won a gold medal in 1984 and there’s been medals at every Olympics since then for Canada. So we have a tradition of success in diving and Canada is noticing it.

    How did you choose this sport?

    I was a gymnast before and I was watching the 1996 Olympics and I saw Annie Pelletier win the bronze medal on the 3m springboard and I told my parents I wanted to be just like her. So they put me into diving and 16 years later I won a bronze medal myself at the Olympics. It’s amazing. I love my sport.

    What’s the most stressful thing for you in a meet?

    I have one chance to succeed. I’ve trained many years for that day, that hour, and that one dive that I need to do. That’s what is stressful for me. That’s what makes sport in general exciting to watch because you have one chance. So that’s what we learn to deal with, and handle the pressure.

    Any specific dive you find particularly difficult?

    For me would be my third dive that I’m competing individually, I do it in synchro as well but I feel like in synchro Meaghan is able to lift me up and it’s not as stressful – it’s a front 3 1/2 , I’ve been having troubles for years with that dive but it’s coming along and it will be ready on time. 

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