KUALA LUMPUR: Paris Olympics-bound Bertrand Rhodict Lises swiftly justified his inclusion in the Road to Gold programme after qualifying for the men's 10m platform final in the season-opening Diving World Cup series in Montreal, Canada, on Thursday.
The 18-year-old left it late to secure his spot in the top-12 final, needing decent efforts in his last three dives to make the cut with a total score of 406.80 points.
Finding himself at rock bottom in the 18th spot after the opening three attempts, Bertrand executed a fine 207c (Back 3 1/2 Somersault Tuck), a routine with a 3.3 degree of difficulty, earning him 84.15 to get the ball rolling.
He scored another pair of creditable 71.40 and 75.20 in the next two to eventually finish 11th.
World champion Yang Hao of China stamped his class to dominate the preliminary round with 516.00 points ahead of countryman Lian Junjie (484.40) and Britain's Noah Williams (474.50).
The Diving World Cup was previously the World Diving Series, and Bertrand made the cut by reaching the top 12 final in the world meet in Fukuoka last year.
His performance in reaching the final and ultimately placing 10th in Fukuoka secured his berth in the Paris Olympics.
"Being part of RTG means I must step up my game to ensure greater consistency in my performance," said Bertrand.
"I'm dedicated to refining my dives through high-quality training sessions.
"I'm hopeful for the chance to participate in training attachments to further polish my dives.
"I trust the management to organise these opportunities. I'm ready to go whenever required to be prepared for my Olympic debut."
Bertrand will be teaming up with Enrique Maccartney Harold in the men's 10m platform synchro final today.
Their 12th-place finish at last year's world meet in Fukuoka secured their qualification for the World Cup.