Montreal is in the midst of an economic, social and cultural revival spurred by a new generation of dynamic young leaders. These movers and shakers have already left their mark on the city in the fields of business, science, new technology, politics, sports, the arts, education and community service. And as 2001 gets under way, they continue to shape a city that's more multicultural and multilingual than ever. To celebrate this new spirit of intellectual, political and artistic openness, The Gazette and La Presse have joined forces to highlight 40 people under the age of 40 we think will have an impact on Montreal in the decade to come.

Despatie : at the age of 15, he seems destined to follow in the footsteps of
Russian diving great Dmitri Saoutine, a five-time Olympic medalist
photo : Éric St-Pierre, La Presse

Alexandre Despatie
AGE : 15
Occupation : Diver

The master : Dmitri Saoutine, 26, five-time Olympic medalist and undisputed star of diving. The student: Alexandre Despatie, 15, Commonwealth champion and first-time participant at the Olympic Games.

The two divers came face to face on Sept. 30 in Sydney, Australia, during the finals of the platform diving. At stake? The bronze medal. The master glanced at the student, who was leading by a dozen points. "Dmitri winked at me as though to tell me I could let up a little to give him a chance," Despatie said. "I think I was making him a little nervous."

But the young diver from Laval missed his fourth dive, automatically conceding third place on the podium to the Russian athlete. Despatie wasn't disappointed, though. By finishing in fourth place, he surpassed the goal he had set for himself, to reach sixth place. His trainer, Michel Larouche, speaking proudly of Despatie, used the same phrase he had used after his protege's triumph at the Commonwealth Games in 1998: "Alexandre became a man that night."

A man ? Already ? Those who saw him take gold at Kuala Lumpur still remember a boy standing 4 feet 11 inches tall who made ads for McDonald's. But here, in the space of just 12 months, he had grown by 8 inches. He also weighed 40 pounds more than when he became, at age 13, the youngest gold medalist in the history of the Commonwealth Games. "My lord, how you've grown !" members of his family said to him after he had been away all of a single week.

Today, his growth spurt has stabilized. This is very good news, because it means he doesn't have to adapt every month to a new centre of gravity. His best days are ahead of him.

"In Russia, they say Alexandre will be the next Saoutine of diving," Larouche said. "They even say that he is better than Saoutine was at his age."

After his successes in Kuala Lumpur and Sydney, Despatie should be able to walk away with the Junior World diving title in 2001. In the absence of Chinese divers Tian Liang and Hu Jia, he should also be the man to beat at the next Commonwealth Games.

Next will come the Olympic Games in Athens in 2004, where he will be a serious medal contender for the Canadian diving team, one of the strongest in the world. He will be only 19 years old. If all goes well, he could be diving at least into the 2012 Olympic Games and, eventually, take his place alongside Saoutine as one of the greats of his sport.

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