Tuesday, August 19, 2008

China has new Diving He-man

China's dominance in Diving continued at the Water Cube on Tuesday, August 19, with He Chong winning the Men's 3m Springboard with 572.90 points. The host nation has won all six Diving competitions contested in Beijing thus far and has won the Men's Springboard in three consecutive Olympic Games.

Alexandre Despatie of Canada continued a streak of his own, winning silver in the event for the second straight Olympic Games. He Chong's compatriot, Qin Kai, won bronze.

He Chong finished on top of the field in the preliminary round and semifinal, showing from start to finish why he is ranked No. 1 in the world. He punctuated his performances with a final dive -- a 5156B -- that earned him a 100.70, the highest individual score of the final.

Three-time Olympian Alexandre Despatie won his second Olympic silver with a consistent performance in the final, following closely behind He Chong from the second dive to the end.

Qin Kai, who, like He, was also making his Olympic debut, won his second medal of the Games. He won gold with partner Wang Feng in the Synchronized Springboard event.

Legendary diver Dmitry Sautin of Russia, an eight time Olympic medalist, finished in fourth -- falling short of the podium despite a spectacular 99.75-point final dive. Sautin won silver in the Synchronized Springboard last week.

Men's 3m Springboard, final standings:

1. China -- He Chong, 572.90 points

2. Canada -- Alexandre Despatie, 536.65

3. China – Qin Kai, 530.10

4. Russia -- Dmitry Sautin, 512.65

5. Germany -- Pavlo Rozenberg, 485.60

6. United States -- Troy Dumais, 472.50

7. Mexico – Yahel Castillo, 462.10

8. Germany -- Patrick Hausding, 462.05

9. Australia – Robert Newberry , 461.05

10. Columbia -- Juan Guillermo Uran, 454.50

11. Japan -- Ken Terauchi, 442.50

12. US -– Chris Colwill, 425.90

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