Diver Alexandre Despatie calling it quits after illustrious career

MONTREAL – Three-time world diving champion Alexandre Despatie is retiring after an illustrious career that saw him burst on to the international scene as a 13-year-old phenomenon.

He made the announcement at a news conference in Montreal this morning.

Despatie is the only diver to have won world championships in all three of the one-metre, three-metre and 10-metre events.

He captured the imagination of the diving world at the 1998 Commonwealth Games when he won gold in the 10-metre event at the age of 13.

The 27-year-old Despatie was also a silver medallist on the three-metre springboard at the 2004 and 2008 Olympic Games.

Despatie has been beset by injuries over the past year or so.

He cracked his head on the diving board a few weeks before last summer’s London Olympics and was sidelined for most of the crucial run-up to the Games.

He eventually finished 11th in the three-metre springboard.

He underwent surgery to correct bursitis and tendinitis in his left knee last October. He then had additional surgery a few weeks later.