TOP-TIER TALENT 5: CAELI MCKAY ON DIVING, MENTAL HEALTH AND THE OLYMPICS!
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Based in Montreal at the Pointe-Claire Diving Club, Caeli McKay is one of Canada’s top 10-metre tower divers as well as forming a partnership with Olympic medallist Meaghan Benfeito in the 10-metre synchro event.
At age 16, she made the difficult decision to leave her family and move to Montreal and became Meaghan Benfeito’s new partner in the 10-metre synchro event. McKay initially resided with Benfeito, whom she credits for helping her get acclimatized to her new surroundings.
While there was initially an adaptation period with the young teenager joining the Olympic veteran – McKay even grew taller during the early period – they have gone on to become Olympic medal contenders for 2021.
Together, McKay and Benfeito have won medals at the 2018 Commonwealth Games, the 2019 Pan American Games, the FINA Diving World Series, and the 2021 FINA Diving World Cup.
Individually McKay has emerged as a diver to watch notably winning a silver medal at the 2019 Pan American Games, and a bronze at the 2021 FINA Diving World Cup.
McKay was initially a gymnast and started diving when she was six years old. She attended an intro-to-diving summer camp hosted by the Dive Calgary club. However, her passion for sport was born when she was five, while watching Olympic medalists cry on the podium at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens. She told her parents: “I want to go there, I want to go to the Olympics!”
McKay’s first podium at the senior national level came at the 2014 Winter Nationals when she was 14 years old – behind her idols Meaghan Benfeito and Roseline Filion on tower. That’s when she realized she could go far in the sport.
She recently came #4 in the Women’s Synchronised 10m Platform Diving.
In this interview, we cover her story, diving, skill development, competing and the Olympics, injury and recovery and so much more.
#CaeliMcKay #Olympics #Diving #Competing #Womenssports #Compete #MentalHealth #Anxiety #Depression #SocialMediaStar #Brightfuture