Despatie dips back into competition

Jennifer Lukas

CTVOlympics.ca Staff

After a knee injury left Alexandre Despatie sidelined for most of the 2011 season, Canada's top male diver is getting back on the board this weekend at the FINA Diving Grand Prix in Rostock, Germany.

In the competition beginning Friday, the two-time Olympic silver medallist and 3m springboard specialist will compete in the synchronized 3m event with diving partner Reuben Ross.

Despatie has not performed a dive in competition since the Canadian national championships in January of last year. The last time he faced off against a full fleet of top international competitors was at the 2010 FINA World Cup in June of 2010.

"It's been a long road to where I am today," Despatie told CTVOlympics.ca in a phone interview on Wednesday. "At the same time, I'm back on the boards diving normally, regularly, full pace and it feels really great to be back and be able to train."

Despatie, a Laval, Que. native, started suffering from knee pain in March of last year, and had to sit out the rest of the season to recover. In November, he was finally ready to return to the pool. It was only three weeks ago that Despatie was able to start performing full dives.

"Some ups and downs, but right now things are really great, I'm really maintaining the best way all the work that I've done through the summer," Despatie said, "The rest of my body is really doing great too. All the work I’ve done this summer is really paying off."

The Canadian diving team is currently preparing for the Olympic test event in London later this month. The competition is also the final Olympic qualifying opportunity ahead of the Games.

The goal in Germany, Despatie explained, is to work on his synchronization with Ross ahead of the crucial London competition. The 26-year-old will need to qualify in both the individual and synchronized 3m events in order to compete at the London 2012 Olympic Games.

"That’s the thing about diving," Despatie said, "You have to do a lot of dives to be at your best and I was out of diving for nearly a year. Right now these things have to come back, one day at a time."