Montreal’s Simone Leathead wins high-diving silver at World Aquatics Championship

By Canadian Press on July 26, 2025.

SINGAPORE — Montréal’s Simone Leathead captured silver in the high diving competition at the World Aquatics Championships on Saturday.

The 22-year-old diver amassed a total of 314.50 points over six dives.

It’s the first podium of Leathead’s career.

Australia’s Rhiannan Iffland (359.25) won her fifth world title in the event.

Maya Kelly (310.00) of the United States took bronze.

Molly Carlson, who is from Thunder Bay, Ont., but resides in Montréal, finished ninth with 271.90 points.

After her first four of six dives in the 20-metre platform finals, Leathead held provisional tenth place, while Carlson was second. After the fifth round, Carlson was still in second place, only 24.35 points behind Iffland, while Leathead had climbed to fourth.

The athletes’ sixth and final attempts completely shook up the standings: Leathead moved into second place with a dive worth 90.00 points, while Carlson slipped into ninth after receiving her lowest score of the competition (39.90).

The final two rounds of the men’s 27-metre high diving competition will take place on Sunday. After four dives, Quebec City’s Michael Foisy (307.60) holds provisional 15th place, 144.70 points behind Constantin Popovici of Romania, who leads the standings.

In the women’s one-metre springboard event on Saturday, neither Calgary’s Margo Erlam nor Sonya Palkhivala of Pointe-Claire, Que., secured a spot in the finals by finishing in the top twelve. Erlam (234.65) finished 17th in the preliminaries, while Palkhivala (218.75) finished 24th.

In the mixed team competition, Canada’s Carson Paul, Katelyn Fung, Amélie-Laura Jasmin, and Matt Cullen placed tenth with a score of 349.20. The Chinese team won the event with 466.25 points. The Canadian team got off to a slow start, placing 21st after the first dive, but later moved up in the standings.

Calgary’s Tazman Abramowicz will be the only Canadian to compete in the men’s one-meter springboard event on Sunday.