Clean sweep at the Cube thrills fans
Chinese divers completed a 10-title clean sweep at the FINA Diving World Series in Beijing on Saturday.
Zhang Jiaqi, Yang Jian and synchro pair Si Yajie and Lian Junjie took the last three gold medals on offer to thrill a full house at the Water Cube.
Two-time World Cup champion Zhang led from the start in the women’s 10m platform and claimed victory with 400.05 points.
Zhang’s compatriot and fellow Rio Olympic champion Ren Qian finished second with 371.20, with Meaghan Benfeito of Canada third (336.40).
“It’s my best performance in recent months. I was very nervous as all the fans were cheering for us, but I feel better now. It’s not easy to score 400-plus points,” said the 15-year-old Zhang.
Yang continued his winning streak in the 10m platform following his triumph in the series opener in Sagamihara, Japan the previous weekend, when China also swept all 10 titles. He amassed a total of 573.60, including 102.60 for his fifth dive, a 207B, and 110.70 for his final effort, a 109B.
China’s Olympic champion Chen Aisen came from behind after three rounds to finish runner-up with 527.65, as Russian Aleksandr Bondar (509.95) had to settle for third.
British star Tom Daley failed to make the podium with 488.50.
“I don’t think I had a perfect final. I managed to be crowned champion because my strong rivals, Chen Aisen and Daley, made bigger mistakes than I did,” Yang said.
“My right heel was injured during winter which ruled me out of training for a month. I feel exhaust- ed now after our national qualifier, the last stop in Japan and here in Beijing.”
Daley was second after two rounds, but a splashy fourth dive (626B) for just 63 points dropped him to fourth.
“I didn’t perform as good as I did in Japan. It was two long weeks of competition,” Daley said. “I still need to work on my strength to prevent injury.
“I’ve put in more dry-land training, like lifting weights, since last year. I will try to make myself stronger when I’m back home to get ready for the next World Series meet and world championships,” Daley said.
Newly partnered Chinese pair Si and Lian claimed the mixed 10m platform synchro title in 346.38. Russia’s Nikita Shleikher and Luliia Timoshinina of Russia (301.26) bagged silver, with Canada’s Benfeito and Nathan Zsombor-Murray taking bronze (300.96).
The next stop in the five-meet series is Montreal in Canada (April 26-28) before it moves on to Kazan, Russia (May 10-12) and ends in London (May 17-19).