Olympics: Synchro divers Heymans, Abel win Canada's first medal

Canada's first medal in the 2012 Olympics in London belongs to synchro divers Émilie-Joane Heymans and Jennifer Abel, winning a bronze in Sunday's women's synchronized three-metre springboard competition.

Heymans is the first female diver to win a medal in four consecutive Summer Olympics, the Globe & Mail writes. The divers, both from Quebec, scored an unimpressive 53.40 with their first dive, and inward flip, and ended the round second behind Wu Minxia and He Zi of China. But they returned in the fourth round with a tight dive, just passing the Italians who posted a low score. "We are less nervous, we are having more fun," Abel said to CTV News. "We're just doing our dives and getting closer to the perfect 10." "The 20-year-old Abel, a former world junior championship silver medalist who has been on the international circuit since she was 15, only teamed up with Heymans full time a year ago," CBC News writes. Canada has high hopes at this Summer Games. The medal on the second full day of competition is good news for a Canadian team aiming for a top-12 finish overall, as Toronto Star notes. It's a fast start for Canadian athletes. Other years haven't been kind to Canada's goal to get out the gate quick. The country went without a medal for seven days in Beijing before the men’s rowing pair and wrestler Carol Huynh finally won silver and gold respectively on Day 8.