Jennifer Abel (born August 23, 1991) is a Canadian former
diver. She is currently partnered with
Mélissa Citrini-Beaulieu for
synchronized diving. She won an
Olympic
Olympic or Olympics may refer to
Sports
Competitions
* Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896
** Summer Olympic Games
** Winter Olympic Games
* Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece b ...
bronze medal at the
2012 Summer Olympics
The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...
in the 3 m synchro diving event with
Émilie Heymans
Émilie-Joane Heymans (born December 14, 1981) is a Canadian diver. She was born in Brussels, Belgium and raised in Greenfield Park, a suburb of Montreal. Heymans has won four Olympic medals, two bronze and two silver. She was the first female ...
and a silver medal at the
2020 Summer Olympics
The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July.
Tokyo was selected as the host city during the ...
in the same event with
Melissa Citrini-Beaulieu. Abel is a four-time
Commonwealth Games
The Commonwealth Games, often referred to as the Friendly Games or simply the Comm Games, are a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930, and, with the exce ...
champion in the 1 m and 3 m synchronized springboard; and is also a three-time
Pan American Games
The Pan American Games (also known colloquially as the Pan Am Games) is a continental multi-sport event in the Americas featuring summer sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The competition is held ...
champion in the 3 m springboard and 3 m synchronized springboard. Her ten medals (six silver, four bronze) at the
FINA World Championships
The FINA World Championships or World Aquatics Championships are the World Championships for aquatics sports: swimming, diving, high diving, open water swimming, artistic swimming, and water polo. They are run by FINA, and all swimming events ar ...
are a record for most medals by a Canadian in diving at the world championships.
Career
Abel became one of Canada's youngest ever divers when she had her debut
Olympics
The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...
at the age of 16 in the
2008 Summer Olympics
The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Na ...
. Though failing to win a medal at the Olympic games that year, Abel did achieve success together with partner
Emilie Heymans on the Grand Prix circuit, winning several medals.
Their work together would continue after that, and Abel would gain from Heymans' experience which would build through to more Grand Prix medals through to 2010.
[
She became the ]2010 Commonwealth Games
The 2010 Commonwealth Games (Hindi: 2010 राष्ट्रमण्डल खेल), officially known as the XIX Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Delhi 2010, was an international multi-sport event that was held in Delhi, India, f ...
champion in both the 1 m springboard and the 3 m synchro springboard with Émilie Heymans
Émilie-Joane Heymans (born December 14, 1981) is a Canadian diver. She was born in Brussels, Belgium and raised in Greenfield Park, a suburb of Montreal. Heymans has won four Olympic medals, two bronze and two silver. She was the first female ...
, as well as holding a 2010 Commonwealth silver in the 3 m springboard. After her positive results she said that "This was my first Commonwealth Games and I didn't expect to win so many medals. It shows I'm on the right track for the Olympics." In 2011, Abel also achieved a bronze medal and a silver medal from the world championships in the 3 m springboard and the 3 m synchro again with Heymans. She then went on to win a silver with Heymans at the 2011 Pan American Games
The 2011 Pan American Games, officially the XVI Pan American Games, was an international multi-sport event that was held from October 14–30, 2011, in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico. Some events were held in the nearby cities of Ciudad Guzmán, ...
in the 3-metre synchro event. For the year of 2011, Abel was named the Aquatic Federation of Canada's female athlete of the year.[
At the ]2012 Summer Olympics
The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...
, she won a bronze medal, with her partner Heymans, in the 3 m springboard synchronized diving event.[CTV, CTV 2012 London Summer Olympics, airdate: July 29, 2012, circa 10:45am EDT] On winning her first Olympic medal at the age of 20, Abel said "Since the beginning of the year we’ve been really nervous about that moment. I think it takes time to just calm down and just realize it."
Abel competed at the 2014 Commonwealth Games
The 2014 Commonwealth Games ( gd, Geamannan a' Cho-fhlaitheis 2014), officially known as the XX Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Glasgow 2014, ( sco, Glesca 2014 or Glesga 2014; gd, Glaschu 2014), was an international multi-sport ev ...
, she and partner Pamela Ware
Pamela Ware (born February 12, 1993) is a Canadian diver. She is currently partnered with Jennifer Abel for synchronized diving. Ware has two bronze medals from the 2013 World Aquatics Championships where she won in the synchronized 3 m ev ...
won the silver medal in 3 m synchro springboard. She next competed in the 1 m springboard where she won the gold medal. Abel finished with a silver medal in the 3 m single springboard event, completing a three medal games for her. At the 2016 Summer Olympics
The 2016 Summer Olympics ( pt, Jogos Olímpicos de Verão de 2016), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad ( pt, Jogos da XXXI Olimpíada) and also known as Rio 2016, was an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 20 ...
Abel finished a frustrating fourth in both the solo and synchro 3 m springboard events.[
Following her disappointing results at the 2016 Olympics, Abel began competing with new partner Mélissa Citrini-Beaulieu. At the they partnered to a silver medal together in their first year in the women's 3-metre synchro springboard event. Abel also partnered with ]François Imbeau-Dulac
François Imbeau-Dulac (born 9 December 1990) is a Canadian diver.
He began diving at the age of 9, and began competing internationally in 2006.
In 2011 Imbeau-Dulac broke the Canadian record (held at the time by Alexandre Despatie) in the 1 ...
in the mixed 3-metre synchro springboard where they won bronze. Individually, Abel also won a bronze medal at these Championships, diving to bronze medal in the 3-metre springboard. With these three medals Abel tied Alexandre Despatie
Alexandre Despatie (; born June 8, 1985) is a Canadian diver and broadcaster from Laval, Quebec. He was the world champion at the 1 and 3 m springboards from 2005 to 2007 and is the first, and so far only, diver to have been world champion ...
for the most medals by a Canadian at the FINA World Championships. At the 2018 Commonwealth Games
The 2018 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XXI Commonwealth Games and also known as Gold Coast 2018, was an international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth that were held on the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia, bet ...
, Abel won the women's 3 m springboard event.
She qualified to represent Canada at the 2020 Summer Olympics
The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July.
Tokyo was selected as the host city during the ...
. In Tokyo, Abel and partner Melissa Citrini-Beaulieu were silver medalists in the 3 m springboard event.
Abel officially announced her retirement after the Tokyo Olympics.
Personal life
Abel is of Haitian descent. She is in a relationship with David Lemieux, former IBF
The International Boxing Federation (IBF) is one of four major organizations recognized by the International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF) which sanctions professional boxing bouts, alongside the World Boxing Association (WBA), World Boxing Counci ...
middleweight boxing champion. Lemieux proposed to Abel on her return from the 2021 Summer Olympics and they are now engaged.
See also
*List of Canadian sports personalities
The following is a list of Canadians, Canadian sports personalities.
Olympic athletes
*Alex Baumann, Greater Sudbury, Sudbury, swimmer
*Josh Binstock (born 1981), volleyball player
*Patrick Chan, Ottawa
*Victor Davis, Guelph
*Andre De Grasse, ...
References
External links
*
*
*
*
Diving Plongeon Canada
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Abel, Jennifer
1991 births
Living people
Sportspeople from Laval, Quebec
Divers from Montreal
Canadian female divers
Black Canadian sportswomen
World Aquatics Championships medalists in diving
Olympic divers of Canada
Olympic medalists in diving
Olympic silver medalists for Canada
Olympic bronze medalists for Canada
Divers at the 2008 Summer Olympics
Divers at the 2012 Summer Olympics
Divers at the 2016 Summer Olympics
Divers at the 2020 Summer Olympics
Medalists at the 2012 Summer Olympics
Medalists at the 2020 Summer Olympics
Commonwealth Games medallists in diving
Commonwealth Games gold medallists for Canada
Commonwealth Games silver medallists for Canada
Commonwealth Games bronze medallists for Canada
Divers at the 2010 Commonwealth Games
Divers at the 2014 Commonwealth Games
Divers at the 2018 Commonwealth Games
Pan American Games medalists in diving
Pan American Games gold medalists for Canada
Pan American Games silver medalists for Canada
Divers at the 2011 Pan American Games
Divers at the 2015 Pan American Games
Medalists at the 2011 Pan American Games
Medalists at the 2015 Pan American Games
Francophone Quebec people
Haitian Quebecers
Canadian sportspeople of Haitian descent