Canadian Olympic diver Caeli McKay found herself in a familiar position on Tuesday, but it wasn’t quite where she wanted to end up.
Competing in the women’s 10m platform final today in Paris, McKay put up a score of 364.50 to finish fourth in the competition, some 7.6 points off the podium.
“Unfortunately, I’m really good at getting fourth”
An incredible, emotional interview with @caemckay after finishing 4th in the women’s 10m platform, just 7.6 points away from a bronze medal@DivingCanada | #diving pic.twitter.com/U1ofsuG9BL
— CBC Olympics (@CBCOlympics) August 6, 2024
“The three before me dove better, but I did as good as I could do today, and I did the best that I’ve done this whole trip,” McKay told CBC after the race. “So I’m really, really happy. And I showed my strength, and I showed the work that I put in the past three years, and I finally was able to do it on my own in an individual event at the Olympics. So I’m really, really proud of myself… Now I’m gonna cry.”
McKay finished fourth in the same event at the Tokyo 2020 Games while finishing fourth in the women’s 10m synchronized springboard competition last week in Paris.
“I’ve always had the dream of a medal,” McKay told CBC after today’s event. “Unfortunately, I’m really good at getting fourth. I’ve done it three times now at the Games, but I was happy, and I felt just pure joy after my last dive, because I did what I came here to do in my event. I was focused on myself. I can’t control anybody else.”
McKay also opened up to CBC about how important it was to have her support system in attendance for the event, having moved across the country from Calgary to Montreal at age 15, ten years ago now.
“It’s really special, like my family’s just all up there, and it’s like a dream come true, like it’s all really come together. And I gave up a lot when I moved away. My brothers were really young, so I missed them growing up, and now they’re men, and they’re watching me at the Olympic finals. So being able to be here with them, just medal or not, I’m just so thankful… I’m just really thankful to have them here,” she added.