Chen joins 600+ club in the men's 10m platform in Guangzhou

With 12 perfect marks and 601.15 points from six dives, two-time Olympic champion Chen Aisen proved his reputation in the men's 10m platform by winning the gold medal in the last day of the FINA/NVC Diving World Series here on Saturday and helped China to make a clean sweep with 10 gold medals on offer.

Unlike below-par form in the semi-final, Chen showed consistence and accuracy in the final with three dives over 100 points and a day-high 109.15 for his 109C, collecting 601.15 to win the individual platform. Chen became the fifth diver ever in history to collect over 600 points on the platform after Olympic champions Lin Yue, Cao Yuan, three-time world champion Qiu Bo and Yang Jian.

Tom Daley (GBR) came from behind to place second (531.45) despite a shaky start, with a 407C only worth 56.00, and Yang Hao of China finished third 526.65.

"It is a shock to me that I had 601.15! It is my first time to earn over 600 points. I am honoured to join the 'Mr.600plus club', but I must be the one with the lowest scores. It is a world top level competition as Daley and Yang also had high scores over 100. In fact, I did not train systematically and that brought me consistency problems during the semi-finals and finals. The victory warns me that I cannot rely on my previous result or short-time performance. I need to work harder," Chen said.

For Daley, he was happy that his previous weak dive 5172B became stronger. "My twisting dive was my weakest one, but brought me today 102.60. It is my first time to get such high score on that combination. However, I am frustrated on my first dive which only gave me 56 points and placed sixth after the first round. It is a very high-standard and exciting competition. Only four people in the world did over 600s before, like Lin Yue, Qiu Bo, Cao Yuan and Yang Jian. Chen is a very talented diver that I hope I can reach that standard too in the future. It is my first time to compete in Guangzhou. I really like the pool and audience. There are many Chinese fans to welcome us in the airport and the hotels. It is nice to have people supporting us as diving is a very popular sport in China," Daley said.

Olympic runner-up Si Yajie claimed victory in the women's 10m platform, repeating her Beijing win, with a total of 418.10, beating Olympic champion Ren Qian by 5.10. World champion Kim Kuk Hyang of DPR Korea placed third (372.15).

"I am satisfied with my performance today. I am more consistent and confident with my entry since I trained a lot on that after the Rio Olympic Games. I wish I can keep my good shape for the next competitions. My winning factor is training," Si said.

Ren admitted she is taller and heavier than when she won the Olympic title last August. "I am taller and heavier, and this has some consequences on my performances. I am still trying to find back my technique. It is the situation that every platform girl has to face and to overcome when we are growing up," said the 16-year-old.

Lian Jie/Lian Junjie topped the mixed 10m platform (355.08), ahead of Viviana Del Angel Peniche/Randal Willars Valdez of Mexico, 339.30, and Taneka Kovchenko/Dominic Bedggood of Australia (321.60).

The FINA/NVC Diving World Series will proceed to Kazan, Russia on March 31-April 2 and then conclude in Windsor, Canada on April 21-23.