Canada's diving team enters new age with test against international competition at worlds

The Canadian diving team will ring in a new era entering the FINA world championships in Budapest this week.

With the retirements of four-time Olympians Jennifer Abel and Meaghan Benfeito following Tokyo 2020, Canada will be in search of its stars of the future as it goes into its first major international competition of the quadrennial.

Despite the recent success at the FINA Grand Prix in Calgary they are set to face stiffer competition at the worlds — but there's no shortage of intrigue regarding the team's upside.

"We're really excited about what we're seeing. This could represent one of the best teams, if not the best, from a quality perspective, from a depth perspective, [and] from a talent perspective," Diving Canada's chief technical officer Mitch Geller told CBC Sports.

Olympians Caeli McKay, Nathan Zsombor-Murray and Rylan Wiens highlight the six-athlete squad that will be headed to Budapest, Hungary for competition from June 26-July 3.

Mia Vallée, Margo Erlam, and Bryden Hattie round out the team.

McKay, who finished fourth in the 10-metre synchronized event with Benfeito in Tokyo, will be facing international competition for the first time since 2021 when she competes in the 10m individual event.

McKay, who competed at the Games with torn ligaments in her left ankle, managed to qualify at the senior nationals in May. After skipping the Grand Prix event in preparation for the world championships, it may possibly still be an uphill battle for McKay who continues to work through the injury.

"She had a really good preliminaries at our recent trials and went close to her personal best. That was encouraging," Geller said.

The Calgary native won bronze at a World Cup event in 2021 and finished seventh at the 2019