Croatia’s
Matej Nevešćanin claimed his nation’s first-ever European Junior Diving
Championship gold medal with a dominant display in the Boys A 1m springboard
final on the third day of Rijeka 2023.
The
16-year-old topped the standings after the morning preliminary competition, but
faced a tough challenge in the final against a host of talented opponents.
Among
them was senior World and European medallist Matteo Santoro of Italy.
The Croatian
ultimately delivered the performance of his life though to claim a maiden
European Junior Diving title with a combined score of 499.60.
“It was
really hard after coming first in the preliminary and having to prove that it
wasn’t an accident and I hope I did prove that,” Nevešćanin told LEN.
“I’m
really happy to get this first gold for Croatia at this big competition, but
I’m a sportsman so I have more events and I will go back to work hard in the
weeks ahead.”
Jonathan
Schauer of Germany, who had led at one stage during the final, took silver with
a score of 488.90, while Santoro (487.10) rounded off the podium places.
“I’m
happy with my performance as I’ve had a hard time where I’ve not trained so
much because of an injury on my foot, so I’m happy,” Schauer told LEN.
Santoro,
who has competed at the European Games and World Championships in recent
months, added; “I’m so tired, so I’m really happy with the results because my
legs were (fatigued), but I also the sun and being tanned, so this is a great venue!”
The Girls
A line-up, for 16-18-year-olds, also produced a fascinating platform final.
Spaniard
Ana Carvajal led heading into the final round, but a low-scoring dive saw her
drop out of the podium places into fourth.
Italian
Irene Pesce delivered when it mattered most, with her combined score of 367.25
enough to take the title.
“I’m very
happy and very proud because I fought against many things in diving and I had
fears, but in the end I won the gold,” Pesce told LEN.
Luisa
Fragoeiro-Arco of Portugal (351.15) claimed her nation’s first-ever European
Junior Diving Championship medal with silver, while Cloe Gravalos Simon of
Spain (346.65) was third.
"I’m
very proud, it’s always been a dream of mine to win a medal for Portugal and
I’m very happy because this is a dream come true,” Fragoeiro-Arco told LEN
after the final.
“No one
has ever won a diving medal for Portugal before and I’m hoping to inspire a lot
of young children there to take up this sport.
“I think
there’s a lot of potential (in the country) because we have the facilities and
I think we can get the excitement going!”
Spaniard
Gravalos Simon added; “I came here two years ago and I came away with no
sensations, but now I have my first European medal, so I’m very proud of it.”
Each
session from Rijeka 2023 can be followed live on the LEN YouTube Channel, while
live scores can be accessed HERE.
https://www.diverecorder.co.uk/live/meet1/selectevent.php
For
further information about the competition, head to the official Rijeka 2023
website. https://rijekadiving2023.com/
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