Caeli McKay’s bronze-medal performance at the World Aquatics Championships is still sinking in.
"I woke up this morning, I was like, 'did I dream that? Or did I actually do that yesterday?'” said the Canadian diver. “It was a crazy feeling. Just really proud."
The 24-year-old from Calgary finished third in the 10-metre platform event in Fukuoka, Japan, on Wednesday, claiming her first-ever medal at a world championships.
McKay had three consecutive strong dives to open the individual final, before putting a bit too much power on her fourth and scoring low.
On her fifth and final dive, she stayed focused despite knowing it would make or break her chance at a podium and scored a 76.80 — her highest of the day — to place only behind world-class Chinese divers Chen Yuxi and Quan Hongchen.
“I felt a little bit numb, to be honest. I was so nervous,” she said. “Hitting the water was just a rush of emotions and such a weight off my shoulders.
“Seeing my name top three, it was just surreal and I just started crying."
McKay, who made the Tokyo Games as a synchro diver, earned an individual spot in the Paris 2024 Olympic Games by making the final a day earlier.
By capturing bronze and setting that standard for herself, McKay only feels more confident heading into an Olympic year.
"I've been working really hard to put my name out there as an individual diver and really solidify that I am here and I deserve to be up in the top ranks,” she said. “I feel very confident with myself now and I know that I can be up there with the Chinese divers.
"It's for sure a motivator … Feels like almost recognition that my hard work is paying off, so now I know that the hard work I'm going to do in the next year is going to you know pay off as well."
Earlier in the world championships, she finished eighth in the 10-metre women's synchronized dive alongside partner Kate Miller of Ottawa.
It’s been a long road to this point. McKay badly tore ligaments in her ankle ahead of the Tokyo Games in 2021, but powered through on essentially one leg to come fourth in the 10-metre synchro event alongside partner Meaghan Benfeito.
After initially trying to recover without getting surgery, McKay underwent a procedure to have her ankle reconstructed last year.
“Having had surgery in October, I wasn't expecting to be here on the podium,” said McKay, who still feels some pain in her ankle.
McKay’s result didn’t come as a surprise to her camp, however.
Canadian national team coach Gilles Emptoz-Lacote says she's been steadily progressing and hitting new benchmarks thanks to the hard and “intelligent” work she puts in with coach Yihua Li — Wednesday’s performance is just a result of that.
"Every time we see her in national competition or international competition, we can see that she's improving technically, she's improving physically, and she was also improving a lot in the last in the last year from the injury that she got in 2020, so it was not a surprise," he said.
"This is an outstanding performance … and it's a good sign for the Paris Olympics in 2024."
McKay, who credits her work with a sports psychologist, says she’s been improving her mental game and calls Wednesday’s performance “one of the strongest days” she’s had in that regard as an individual driver.
The 2019 Pan American Games gold medallist also believes she’s making strides in managing her dives and pacing herself during competition.
In previous competitions, McKay would often place in the top three in the preliminary and semifinal rounds, but by the time of the final, she had already exerted herself and might drop a couple spots.
Not on Wednesday, when she climbed from fifth place in the semifinal to the podium.
"It definitely showed that I've been training really hard at home and putting a lot more dives in on 10 metre to build up my endurance,” she said. “Not only physically, but mentally.”
The next step in McKay’s progression is improving her consistency. Instead of having four good dives and one that “keeps us on our toes,” she’s aiming for five solid attempts.
McKay won’t have to wait long to put that to the test in competition. After the diving events wrap up in Fukuoka on Saturday, the Canadian team is flying straight to Berlin, Germany, for the Diving World Cup Super Final from Aug. 4-6.
The 2023 Pan Am Games then take place in Santiago, Chile, this October as the road to Paris continues.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 20, 2023.
Daniel Rainbird, The Canadian Press
