Chinese divers get perfect score in men’s 3-meter synchro event
SHANGHAI — Already dominating the diving pool at the world championships, China took its performance to an even higher level in men’s 3-meter synchro: Qin Kai and Luo Yutong earned 10 perfect marks while winning the host country’s sixth gold medal.
The Chinese divers pulled away midway through the final Tuesday and went on to win with 463.98 points, giving China its second gold of the day and eighth medal overall in the outdoor pool.
Earlier, Shi Tingmao and Wang Han finished 1-2 in the women’s 1-meter to complete a springboard sweep for the Chinese.
In the men’s final, Ilya Zakharov and Evgeny Kuznetsov of Russia took the silver with 451.89, rallying from fourth on their last dive.
Mexico’s Yahel Castillo and Julian Sanchez earned the bronze at 437.61.
Americans Kristian Ipsen and Troy Dumais settled for fourth at 429.06, the highest finish for the U.S. so far. They were in second place going into the last dive, but Dumais missed on a reverse 2 1-2 somersault with 1 1-2 twists to drop out of medal contention. The duo won the silver two years ago in Rome.
The Chinese led all the way, increasing their lead by double digits starting with the third round. Qin, who won the gold in Rome with a different partner, and Luo did the same dive as the Americans in the final round, and the Chinese received one 10 for execution.
Their first two dives earned four 10s each for synchronization, and their third dive received one 10, causing fans to pound their red-and-white Thunderstix.
The Chinese are known for their high degree of difficulty, but it was the Russian duo who performed the toughest dive of the competition.
Zakharov and Kuznetsov went for it on their final dive, a forward with 4 1-2 twists that earned high enough marks to push them onto the medals podium.
The women’s contest was close, with Shi totaling 318.65 points and Wang just 8.45 points behind for silver with 310.20. Wang improved on her third-place showing two years ago in Rome. /ap
