SILVER KEEPS COMING FOR AUSTRALIANS IN NORTH AMERICA

The Australian diving team has added another two silver medals to its booty from its tour of North America overnight, with the athletes once again bucking the odds to finish on the podium.

Esther Qin in the individual springboard, and James Connor and Grant Nel in the springboard synchro, added to the two silver medals won by Australian divers at the Mexico Grand Prix one week ago.

Qin thought going into her final dive at the Gatineau Grand Prix in Canada that she was an outside chance of a bronze medal.

A near perfect reverse dive, her second last of the competition, had brought with it scores of nine and above, and lifted her from last to fourth in the six-diver field.

She finished with another high-scoring final dive, which leapfrogged the 23-year-old into the silver medal position.

For James Connor and Grant Nel, their silver medal in the 3-metre synchro came after just one full practice session together.

Their preparation had been seriously curtailed after Nel suffered an ear infection which kept him from the pool for two days.

And like Qin, the Victorians finished with a flourish to propel themselves into second, behind Canadians Francois Imbeau-Dulac and Philippe Gagne.

“We really didn’t know what to expect,” Connor said.

“I have never dived in 3-metres internationally before, but we both knew we were diving well individually. And the dives we were doing today were dives we were doing in our individual competition.”

Nel said despite their lack of training together, he and Connor know each other well.

“We’ve known each other since we were little, we joined the same junior club at about the same time,” he said.

“Whether it was just luck or skill today, neither of us is going to complain.”

Qin, who announced herself to the diving world by winning gold at last year’s Commonwealth Games, thought her chances of a medal this morning were slim after sitting at the back of the field at the halfway stage of the final.

“After my third dive I tried not to think about it too much,” she said.

“I knew I couldn’t afford to miss any of my last dives. I just visualised my good dives in my head.

“After my reverse dive I felt so happy underwater. Everyone ran down and started hugging me, telling me I’d scored nines and 9.5’s. I was so excited.”

With one dive to go Qin thought she was a chance of getting past Mexican diver, Arantxa Chavez, and sneaking a bronze.

When both Chavez and Dutch diver, Uschi Freitag, faltered, Qin pounced, finishing second behind Chinese gold medalist Chunting Wu.

All three medalists will be in action again on the final day of the Gatineau Grand Prix.

Qin will team with Adelaide’s Samantha Mills in the 3-metre synchro, looking to build on the silver medal they won in Mexico one week ago.

Connor will compete in the 10-metre synchro with Commonwealth Games gold medalist, Domonic Bedggood, and Nel will dive in the final of the individual springboard.