'I’ll remember it for the rest of my life': Sask. diver punches ticket to Tokyo Olympics

SASKATOON -

On Canada Day Rylan Wiens finished second at the Canadian Diving Trials, punching his ticket to the 2021 Tokyo Summer Olympic Games.

"I finally achieved what I set out to do in the last 10-15 years of my life. Just a moment of happiness and joy and relief all at once," Wiens said. "It’s been a dream of mine since I have probably been six or five years old just to say I went there. It’s a huge accomplishment and I’ll remember it for the rest of my life."

Since the age of six he has been a member of the Saskatoon Diving Club. Now at 19, he’s happy to be able to give the club some notoriety.

"My entire life everyone was like when are you going to move to Montreal to go diving," Wiens said. “Coming from a smaller town where there are not as many athletes at all, being one of the few that made it all the way to the Olympics is super special."

The Olympic diver is set to take to the 10-meter diving board at the Tokyo Aquatic Centre August 6 and 7.

"Just trying to inspire people to do what you can from wherever you are," Wiens said. “You don’t have to go away."

The Summer Olympics held in Tokyo are approximately 8,300 kilometers away his hometown of Pike Lake. He knows a few people will be staying up late to watch.

"Japan isn’t allowing any spectators so my parents will be watching from the house at home late in the night."