Anne Montminy is back. After a disastrous performance at the 1996
Olympics she has rebuilt her career piece-by-piece in one of the nicest
comeback stories in Canadian sport. She'll enter the Sydney Games stronger
than ever with a world number-two ranking thanks to her silver medal
performance at the World Cup held at the Sydney Olympic pool in January.
Back in the July 1996, Montminy was considered Canada's top Olympic medal
hope in diving and was ranked fourth in the world on tower. Something went
terribly wrong in the preliminary round and she finished 24th and was
eliminated. After that unfortunate day she ordered herself a five-month
rest from the boards to contemplate her career. "I think the time off
actually helped me get rid of some bad habits," she said. "My skills are a
lot better now." Her only blip in her comeback was not qualifying for the
Pan American Games when she placed third at trials behind Blythe Hartley
and Emilie Heymans. But for Montminy that was simply a reflection of
Canada's depth in the sport.
"There are four of us who can come top-six in the world," she said.
"Everytime we compete against each other even the preliminaries are
stressful I remember last year at an international meet I was fourth in
the prelims but I was the third Canadian and they only allowed two per
country to advance. The Canadian girls are very, very good."
Montminy is also a brilliant student. Over the past four years she has
pursued a law degree at the Universite de Montreal.
2000 Games
Sept. 28: Women's 10m synchronized platform: Emile Heymans and Anne Montminy, Montreal, won silver medal.
Sept. 24: Anne Montminy, Montreal, finished third in finals, won a bronze medal.
Sept. 22: Anne Montminy, Pointe-Claire, Que., finished third in preliminaries, advanced to semifinals.
Photos
Montminy shows off her hardware
Heymans and Montminy with medals
Smiles all around
A wave from the podium
Montminy reacts their finish
Diving their way to a silver medal
Synchronized dive routine
Up side down
Heymans and Montminy dive
Anne Montminy competes in the final
Anne Montminy waves to the crowd
Anne Montminy in 10m platform semifinal
Anne Montminy tucks it in
2000 Games Diving Coverage
2000 Games Anne Montminy Section
