Alexandre Despatie looks towards the crowd after competing in the 3 meter open final event at the Canada Cup diving competition in Montreal, Sunday, May 6 , 2012. Three-time world diving champion Despatie is retiring after an illustrious career that saw him burst on to the international scene as a 13-year-old phenomenon. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes
June 04, 2013 - 8:06 AM
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.
News from © The Canadian Press, 2013