Daley claims worlds gold, silver sweep
BUDAPEST: Tom Daley saw off Olympic champion Chen Aisen of China to add 10m platform gold to the silver he had won just hours earlier on Saturday at the world aquatic championships.
Having e a rned a si lver with partner Grace Reid in the af ternoon’s 3m synchro springboard f inal, Britain’s Daley went one better in the 10m platform to win a third worlds gold in his career.
Having led from the start, Daley kept his nerve in the final round, producing a brilliant dive, a back three-and-a-half somersault pike, under pressure to secure the gold.
His score matched Chen’s tally of a near- perfect 106.20pts for the round after the Chinese had thrown down the gauntlet with a fantastic dive.
Daley’s winning tal ly was 590.95pts from Chen, who took silver with 585.25pts, whi le China’s Yang Jian won bronze with 565.15pts.
It is the second time the 23-yearold Daley has won the 10m platform world title having also struck gold at the 2009 championships in Rome as a 15-year- old.
Daley also won gold in the team event at the 2015 world championships in Kazan.
Having announced himself on the world stage by competing as a 13-year- old at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Daley has built up a cult following.
Every dive at Budapest’s Duna Arena was greeted with a roar in each round from the crowd, which was repeated when his score was flashed up confirming his first place. — AFP