ST. JOHN’S, NL (August 20, 2025): Team Sask claimed two more medals on the first day of week two competition of the 2025 Canada Summer Games. Divers Lila Stewart and Isa Koop opened up their competition on Tuesday evening by capturing gold and silver in the Women's Artistic Dive event. After five dives, Stewart was on top of the standings with a score of 221.70 points; Koop's final score was 198.15.
Saskatchewan's profile has risen in the Diving world in recent years, with Olympians and Team Sask alumni Rylan Wiens and Margo Erlam setting a high bar for new athletes entering the sport. "In Saskatchewan, our small community and word of mouth really helps our programs," said Laura Desautels, 2025 Canada Summer Games coach and head coach of the Regina Diving Club. “We have two really solid programs in Regina and Saskatoon, a really good junior development program. It’s always a great group of kids, and seeing their teammates find that kind of success and make it to the Olympics really inspires them.”
She said that this was an “awesome” way to begin the week’s competition. “The Artistic event is about really foundational skills and so it’s a good lead-up into their more difficult dives coming later in the week. It’s a good way to get their nerves out.”
The eight-person Diving team will continue competing throughout the week in 1m and 3m platform and springboard events, as well as the team event. Desautels says that further medal prospects are high among the squad, which also features national record-holder Kash Tarasoff. "Diving is about being fearless. It's about being physical, strong, flexible, having coordination... it's a whole package kind of sport. You have to be able to handle pressure. It's scary to be able to compose yourself and perform in front of a bunch of people."
Desautels first met Stewart when she was a preschooler participating in the Regina Diving Club's Tumble Bugs program. "I looked over and saw this kid jumping so high -- these perfect little pike jumps -- and I thought, 'I have to go over there and talk to her parents.' You get to know these kids as teeny tiny, almost babies, growing into composed young women winning medals at the Canada Games."
Koop had a similarly early start in the sport, according to her father Greg. “She started diving when she was about four. She was just fearless – and she was the youngest diver in her club’s history to go off the 10 metre board at the age of six.”
But he says that it’s not just about competition for the 17-year-old. "She comes to have fun and be with the other divers. This is the icing on the cake."
Additional photos will be uploaded to the Diving gallery following the medal ceremonies Saturday evening.
GOLD | 2
SILVER | 3
BRONZE | 3
TOTAL | 8
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ABOUT TEAM SASK
Athletes who compete at the Canada Games represent the country’s next generation of national, international, Olympic, and Paralympic champions. Team Sask alumni Catriona Le May Doan, Mark McMorris, Emily Clark, Rylan Wiens, Shelby Newkirk, and Carissa Norsten, among many others, can all count their previous Canada Games experiences as a stepping stone to the highest levels of sport.
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Darren Dupont
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(639) 471-0167
Karen Lawson
Team Sask Communications Lead
(306) 529-3120
