Final act not what diver Alexandre Despatie wanted but he remains proud of his Olympic career

Given his choice it's probably not the script diver Alexandre Despatie would have written for his final Olympic Games appearance.

But given his story leading up to London, the pain and doubts caused by a horrific accident, Despatie can live with the ending.

"I did my best,'' Despatie told Postmedia after finishing 11th in the three-metre springboard final. "I did everything I had to be here.

"I have to be proud of the fact I went all the way to do what I set out to do and that was competing in my fourth Olympics.''

Despatie is a two-time Olympic silver medallist but his last dive at the Games saw him landing awkwardly in an explosion of water. He reacted by punching the surface in anger as he swam away.

"It's one of those things that happens hardly ever, once in a blue moon,'' Despatie said. "I wasn't placed well on the board, my legs gave out."

Given a chance to reflect, Despatie talked about how magic the Olympics have been.

"The Olympic Games have a special effect on us,'' the 27-year-old from Laval, Que., told The Globe and Mail. "I wanted to be here, and I don't regret a second of it. Regardless of all the obstacles, I would do it again.

"It was hard to not let go. I always had it in the back of my mind that the other guys are training, and you saw the results today."

No one will ever know if Despatie's curtain call would have been different if he hadn't bashed his head on a diving board in June while training for a competition in Madrid, Spain.

Despatie needed surgery to repair a 10-centimetre cut and suffered what was called "a small concussion.'' The three-time world champion missed two important meets in European and three critical weeks of practice.

"When he got back from Spain it was clear to us there was no way he could come to the Games," said Despatie's father Pierre, who was in the stands with wife Christiane Tuesday. "But here he is."

Earlier in the Games Despatie competed in the three-metre synchronized event with Reuben Ross, finishing sixth.

Despatie, who won silver medals at the 2008 and 2004 Olympic Games, is one of the best divers Canada has ever produced. He was just 13 when he burst onto the international scene by winning the 10-metre gold medal at the 1998 Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur.

He also is the first diver in history to win world championship gold in the one-metre, three-metre springboard and 10-metre platform.

Mitch Geller, Diving Canada's chief technical officer, said Despatie changed the sport.

"What he did was he showed Canadian diving what's possible,'' said Geller. "He changed everybody's attitude.

"The things that Alex has done, and done repeatedly, the only reason we have been able to achieve some of the results that we have is because all of our athletes believe that they can be up with the rest of the world. He revolutionized what we're capable of.''

Despatie has called London his last Olympics. He may continue to dive next year and compete at the world championships.

The sport still brings him joy.

"That's why we love the sport," he said. "The way we feel on the board, you're pushing yourself to the limit. That what I did."

Getting ready to compete at his last Games might have been Despatie's biggest challenge.

"It's been the most difficult year of my life," he said. "And I would do it again."

Despatie understands what diving has meant to him and what the sport has brought to his life. He also feels comfortable walking away.

"I do diving, but that's not who I am," he said.