Francois Imbeau-Dulac is a competitive Canadian diver often rewarded with a place on the podium in any competition he enters. He is a regular among the top eight in the 3m synchro with his partner Pilippe Gagné and the 3m mixed synchro with partner Jennifer Abel in both the Grand Prix and World Series international circuits. He started his athletic journey as a competitive swimmer then switched to diving at age nine after watching athletes dive from the 3m board at the pool. Notably, he created a new record for Canada in 2011, breaking Alexandre Despatie’s previously held record in the 1m springboard event. That same year, he made his debut at the FINA World Championships and finished in fifth in the 3m springboard at the Pan American Games in Guadalajara. Having made his international debut in 2006, he made his Olympic debut at the 2012 Olympic Games in London, where he finished in 13th in the men’s springboard event; he had impressed in the preliminary round where he earned the single highest-scoring dive (93.60) of the round. In 2013, Imbeau-Dulac was named Male Athlete of the Year by Diving Canada. He won Silver in the 3m synchro with Gagné at the 2015 Pan American Games in Toronto, then again in the 2018 Commonwealth Games. Imbeau-Dulac was the top-ranked Canadian man in the 3m springboard event during the 2017, 2018 and 2019 FINA World Series. A testament to his athleticism, he dealt with multiple hip injuries in 2014 but competed in that season’s Commonwealth Games and FINA World Cup in spite of it. Then he completely changed his technique, switching from his right leg to his left leg to power his diving takeoffs. Although he was unable to participate in the 2016 Olympics due to injuries, we’ll be sure to see him at the 2020 Olympic Games.
