Along with Émilie Heymans and Alexandre Despatie, Blythe Hartley is a serious challenger for two medals at the Athens Olympics. Hartley competes on women's three-metre with one of the hardest lists of dives in the world. And she forms a powerful pairing with Heymans on synchronized three-metre. Hartley even moved to Montreal last summer to train at the CAMO Club with national team coach Michel Larouche and practice on a regular basis with Heymans.
So far in 2004, Hartley's enjoying the best season of her career, medaling at almost every international competition. She broke the Canadian three-metre record this past March as well.
"I have the confidence now for each my dives and that's why I‚ve been consistent," she said.
Hartley is a four-time world junior champion and she was named Canada's female junior athlete of the year in 1999. Her father Michael Hartley was a member of Canada's 1972 Olympic bobsleigh team.
