Chinese divers performed exquisitely
in the first two finals of the World Aquatics Diving World Cup in Montreal on
Friday, claiming gold medals in both the men’s 10m synchro event and the
women’s 3m synchro discipline. Ukraine and the USA took the silvers on Day 1.
British and Canadian pairs each earned a bronze.
China’s World Cup diving dominance
continued at the second stop of the World Aquatics tour on Friday, as both of
China’s synchro pairs led the competition after every round, while other
nations battled for the rest of the medals.
If there was one surprise, however, it was that Americans Sarah BACON
and Kassidy COOK scored the highest single-dive point total in the women’s 3m
synchro event, topping even CHANG Yani and CHEN Yiwen’s score on a front 3½
pike (or 107B), the toughest dive in the women’s contest.
Ultimately, in men’s 10m synchro,
China, Ukraine, and Great Britain went 1-2-3, while the women’s 3m synchro
podium went China-USA-Canada in that order, with 26.82 points separating first
from third. For details and reactions, read on.
Men's 10m Synchro
On the 10m tower, China’s LIAN Junjie
and YANG Hao claimed victory with their most difficult dive – and the highest
score of the day – in the men’s synchro final on Friday, outshining the
(teenage) runners-up from Ukraine by 43.98 points.
LIAN, 22, and YANG, 25, were already
leading after each of the first five rounds when they earned 93.24 points on a
forward 4 ½ tuck (109C), with a 3.7
degree of difficulty to punctuate their second World Cup victory this year.
“The [456.72 total] score was very
high, but we still did some small mistakes and we want to improve,” YANG, said,
already looking ahead to the World Championships in Fukuoka, Japan, in July,
and the World Cup Super Final in Berlin in August.
Ukraine’s Kirill BOLIUKH, 16, and
Oleksii SEREDA, 17, withstood pressure from the other eight teams to cling
firmly onto second place during the last five (of six) rounds.
"We didn't have any special
strategy or state of mind coming to the event,” SEREDA admitted. “We were just
hoping to be able to show what we can do. It's definitely a good start for the
weekend. Let's see where it will lead.”
Last month, BOLIUKH and SEREDA placed
third at the previous World Cup, in Xi’an China. They, too, will compete at the
Super Final this summer.
Great Britain’s Matty LEE, 25, and
Noah WILLIAMS, 22, took the bronze by saving their most difficult dive for last
(also a 109C, like China). It turned out to be their best single-dive of the
day (82.14 points) and knocked Mexico into fourth place by a slim 5.82 points.
“We both made slip-ups on a few
different dives,” WILLIAMS admitted afterwards. “We tried to stay composed and
knew anything could happen in the end.”
“It’s all about staying within the
fight for the medals; we did that and got a bronze so I’m kinda happy,” said
LEE, who won the 2020 Olympic gold medal in this event with Tom DALEY.
Australia, USA, Canada, Malaysia, and
Brazil finished fifth through ninth, respectively.
Women's 3m Synchro
In the women’s 3m synchro event
immediately afterwards, CHANG Yani and CHEN Yiwen of China continually inched
up their lead in the first three (of five) rounds, but in round four, Americans
Sarah BACON and 2016 Olympian Kassidy COOK executed a well-rewarded front 3½
pike to decrease China’s lead ever-so-slightly. The US pair scored 77.19 points
for the maneuver – the highest score of the day in the women’s final.
But China’s CHANG and CHEN saved
their best dive for last (a forward 2½ with a twist) to capture their second
gold medal in two World Cup events. Their 329.43-point total was 14.34 points
ahead of the Americans.
Asked at what point knew they had won
the contest, CHEN, 23, said, “We don’t think about it a lot. We just focus on
each dive and the competition itself. We don’t overthink about the results.”
In contrast, COOK, 27, quickly sensed
that the US had clinched silver on last dive. “As soon as we both had a good
hurdle, I was like, ‘Okay, we got this.’ You know when you hit a dive when
you’re underwater. When we got out, we saw our coach’s face. He was
super-excited so we knew that we did one of the better lists that we ever did
internationally.”
Since the US team wasn’t at the first
World Cup in China in April, BACON, 26, said, “coming away with a silver just
boosts our confidence even more heading into the World Championships and third
leg of the World Cup series.”
Mia VALLEE, 22, and Pamela WARE, 30,
took third for Canada, squeaking by Australia’s Maddison KEENEY, 26, and Alysha
KOLOI, 21, on the final dive by less than a point.
Great Britain, Germany, and Brazil
finished fifth, sixth, and seventh, respectively.
LOOKING AHEAD
Day 2 of the Montreal World Cup will
feature a whole new cast of characters in two additional finals, beginning with
the Women’s 10m Synchro at 15:00 local time, followed by the Men’s 3m Synchro
event. Check back here to see if China can go 4-for-4 in the gold medal tally.
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