Jennifer Abel

Abstract

Raised in Laval, Qué, Abel began DIVING in 1996. During her second year competing nationally, Abel became national champion in the 1 m diving event. Over the next 4 years, Abel continued to compete nationally as an individual diver.

Jennifer Abel Jennifer Abel, diver (born at Montreal, Que, 23 August 1991). Jennifer Abel is one of the youngest divers in Canadian history to represent Canada at the OLYMPIC GAMES. Early Career

Raised in Laval, Qué, Abel began DIVING in 1996. During her second year competing nationally, Abel became national champion in the 1 m diving event. Over the next 4 years, Abel continued to compete nationally as an individual diver.

Abel began competing in synchronized dive events in 2006, partnering with Meaghan BENFEITO in the 3 m synchronized dive, and Pamela Ware in the 10 m synchronized dive event. All the while, Abel continued to compete as an individual. That year Abel won silver in the 1 m and 3 m dive events and gold in the 10 m dive at the Junior National Championships. She broke onto the international competitive scene when she competed in her first Senior Grand Prix competition in Madrid, Spain; there she competed in the 10 m individual dive event, and won the silver medal in the 10 m synchronized dive with Ware. The young diver's success earned her a spot at the FINA World Junior Championships in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, where she won a bronze medal in the 3 m dive.

In 2007, Abel began competing in the senior national championships. There, in her home province of Quebec, Abel won a bronze in the 1 m dive, silver in the 3 m synchronized dive with Benfeito, and silver in the 10 m synchronized dive with her new partner, Marie-Ève Marleau. Abel's first international competition of the year, the Pan American Junior Championships, was extremely successful. Abel won silver in the 1 m dive, and gold in both the 3 m dive and 3 m synchronized dive with Benfeito.

Olympic Competition

The year 2008 was filled with achievements for Abel. The year began with Abel winning her first senior international medal, a bronze in the 3 m dive at the Spain Grand Prix in Madrid. She then won the gold medal at the Winter Senior National Championships in two events, the 1 m dive, and the 3 m synchronized dive with Benfeito. Her achievements made her one of the youngest divers in Canadian history to secure an Olympic spot for the country - Alexandre DESPATIE was 15 when he competed at the Sydney Olympic Games in 2000

Continued Success

In 2009 Abel secured two national championships, as well as bronze medals on the FINA Grand Prix circuit, at the Canada Cup and the USA Grand Prix. That year, Abel competed with a new 3 m synchronized partner, Melanie Rinaldi. Together, the won silver at the Canada Cup.

In 2010, at the FINA World Series 2 in Veracruz, Mexico, Abel competed for the first time with Emilie HEYMANS in the 3 m synchronized dive. The pair was successful almost immediately, winning silver and bronze medals at the major competitions that followed. Abel also won two national championships, the individual 3 m dive title and the 3 m synchronized title with Heymans. The pair finished the 2010 season with a gold medal at the Commonwealth Games in Delhi, India, while Abel took home an additional gold in the 1 m and silver in the 3 m dives.

Abel's most successful competitive year has been 2011. It was in this year that Abel won 13 medals in 16 international events, and was named female athlete of the year by the Aquatic Federation of Canada. In addition, Heymans and Abel's partnership proved strong throughout 2011 with the pair setting a Canadian record in the 3 m synchronized event. With her individual and synchronized wins, Abel secured Canada space in both the 3 m and 3 m synchronized events at the 2012 Olympic Games. She and Heymans won bronze in the 3 m synchronized event, Canada's first medal of the Games.