Diver Heymans grows in confidence By FRANCOIS FOISY -- Sun Media

BEIJING -- Eric Heymans doesn't have to look very far to see how his daughter has changed since 2004.

"She's a lot happier now," he said without hesitation.

Canadian diver Emilie Heymans, who is competing in her third Olympic Games, is quick to confirm that.

"A lot has changed since the Athens Games," she said. "I don't have the same coach and the relationship I have with my current coach is very different. There is also the fact that (in Athens), I was competing in four events while here, I can concentrate on a single one (the 10-metre platform). I'm also more mature that I was four years ago. I'm no longer the same person."

Who knows? This new person could win a medal in a week at Beijing's Water Cube.

"Emilie is much more confident," said her new coach, Yihua Li, whom Emilie found after leaving Michel Larouche after the world championship in Montreal in 2005.

"She communicates a lot better ... She has changed a lot and, yes, I think that will affect the way she dives."

Heymans has not had any luck at the podium at major events such as the Olympics or the world championship since she was crowned world champion in the platform event in 2003. She placed fourth in Athens and Montreal (2005) and fifth last year in Melbourne.

But she has improved her standing over the past few months. In individual events, the 26-year-old took a silver and another bronze at the Grand Prix events and two other medals in the World Series. She even beat the Chinese at times.

"Emilie has developed as an athlete. I think her goals are a lot clearer," said Blythe Hartley, who took bronze during the synchronized event in Athens. "I think her self-confidence has grown, and especially this year with the exceptional results she has had."

Her relationship with Li -- who was coach of Anne Montminy, a two-time winner at the Sydney Games -- seems to have played a factor in Emilie's fortunes.

"We really have a good connection," Heymans said. "We talk a lot and we decide everything together."