Qin's error hands He his second straight 3m gold
Source: Agencies |
July 23, 2011, Saturday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
China's He Chong won his second successive world three-meters springboard gold medal yesterday, continuing the home nation's domination of the diving competition at the outdoor pool of the Oriental Sports Centre in Shanghai.
He, who is also the Beijing Olympic champion, had been locked in a tight tussle with compatriot Qin Kai until the penultimate round when Qin's forward four and half somersault attempt went badly awry.
The 25-year-old Qin was off balance from take off and became horribly off centre throughout his somersaults, barely pulling out of the final somersault to splash into the pool.
A distraught Qin, who had won the three meters springboard synchro gold with Luo Yutong earlier in the competition, was awarded just 32.30 points for the dive and he crashed from duelling for the gold down to fifth place.
"I feel really sad, because I have trained very hard over the years. Maybe it is a precious experience for me," Qin told reporters. "I wiped the water off the board but it was still slippery. That's why I missed. But I don't feel regretful, maybe its just not the right time for me to win."
The 24-year-old He posted an impressive 107.25 points with his final dive, a forward two and half somersault with three twists, to finish the competition on 554.30 points and become the first man to successfully defend the world title since Russia's Dmitri Sautin did it in 2001.
"I feel sorry for Qin. He had been in the lead all the way until he made an error on dive five," said He. "I was exhausted after the prelim and semi-final yesterday, so the gold medal is really satisfactory."
Russian duo Ilya Zakharov (508.95) and Evgeny Kuznetsov (493.55) filled out the podium while 2007 champion Qin recovered to finish fourth on 481.90 points.
Diving golds
China has won all eight diving golds on offer so far in Shanghai, with just the women's three-meters springboard and men's 10-meters platform titles to be decided.
Earlier, China's Wu Minxia qualified first for today's women's 3-meter springboard final. Her teammate, He Zi, was third. Jennifer Abel of Canada was second.
Also, Thomas Lurz of Germany won the men's open water 5km race yesterday by less than a second over Greece's Spyros Gianniotis, reversing the result of the 10km race earlier in the week. Swann Oberson of Switzerland, who has been swimming in international competitions for only a year, won the women's 5km race.
Lurz finished in 56 minutes, 16.6 seconds and Gianniotis in 56.17.4. Evgeny Drattsev of Russia won the bronze in 56.18.5.
Lurz passed the Greek swimmer late in the race.
"It was my strategy to leave it to the end," Lurz said. "But I was only sure that I won when I touched the finish board."
In Wednesday's 10km race, Gianniotis passed Lurz near the finish to take gold.
He, who is also the Beijing Olympic champion, had been locked in a tight tussle with compatriot Qin Kai until the penultimate round when Qin's forward four and half somersault attempt went badly awry.
The 25-year-old Qin was off balance from take off and became horribly off centre throughout his somersaults, barely pulling out of the final somersault to splash into the pool.
A distraught Qin, who had won the three meters springboard synchro gold with Luo Yutong earlier in the competition, was awarded just 32.30 points for the dive and he crashed from duelling for the gold down to fifth place.
"I feel really sad, because I have trained very hard over the years. Maybe it is a precious experience for me," Qin told reporters. "I wiped the water off the board but it was still slippery. That's why I missed. But I don't feel regretful, maybe its just not the right time for me to win."
The 24-year-old He posted an impressive 107.25 points with his final dive, a forward two and half somersault with three twists, to finish the competition on 554.30 points and become the first man to successfully defend the world title since Russia's Dmitri Sautin did it in 2001.
"I feel sorry for Qin. He had been in the lead all the way until he made an error on dive five," said He. "I was exhausted after the prelim and semi-final yesterday, so the gold medal is really satisfactory."
Russian duo Ilya Zakharov (508.95) and Evgeny Kuznetsov (493.55) filled out the podium while 2007 champion Qin recovered to finish fourth on 481.90 points.
Diving golds
China has won all eight diving golds on offer so far in Shanghai, with just the women's three-meters springboard and men's 10-meters platform titles to be decided.
Earlier, China's Wu Minxia qualified first for today's women's 3-meter springboard final. Her teammate, He Zi, was third. Jennifer Abel of Canada was second.
Also, Thomas Lurz of Germany won the men's open water 5km race yesterday by less than a second over Greece's Spyros Gianniotis, reversing the result of the 10km race earlier in the week. Swann Oberson of Switzerland, who has been swimming in international competitions for only a year, won the women's 5km race.
Lurz finished in 56 minutes, 16.6 seconds and Gianniotis in 56.17.4. Evgeny Drattsev of Russia won the bronze in 56.18.5.
Lurz passed the Greek swimmer late in the race.
"It was my strategy to leave it to the end," Lurz said. "But I was only sure that I won when I touched the finish board."
In Wednesday's 10km race, Gianniotis passed Lurz near the finish to take gold.
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