China continued its winning streak as Olympic and World champion Shi Tingmao maintained her reputation in the women's 3m springboard and Wang Han/Li Zheng snatched the gold medal in the mixed 3m springboard at the FINA Diving World Cup in Wuhan on Saturday June 9.

The competition of the women's 3m springboard was a battle between the two Chinese star divers. However, it was the defending champion, Shi, who proved to be the best by claiming the title with 404.70 points, beating Wang Han into second 383.56. Pamela Ware of Canada finished third in 348.75

"It was very close to the winning scores I received at the Rio Olympic Games two years ago. But I did not perform my best as I felt a little bit tired for the last two dives. I will gear up for tomorrow's synchro event and try to retain the title for China," Shi said.

 The 25-year-old Ware made her comeback to the podium (since 2013).

Pamela Warer (CAN), photo by Zhou Xin

 "I am happy I am back! I won a bronze medal at the Worlds in 2013 and I kept training and fighting. I felt great during the day because I flied high and stayed smoothly during the semi-final and final phases. I made improvement on my first dive 205B that was the key point of my medal," Ware said.

 Wang Han said she just experienced a very challenging day, with three competitions within one day. Earlier in the day, Budapest World champions Wang Han / Li Zheng dominated the mixed 3m springboard synchro with 337.95, while Elena Bertocchi / Maicol Verzotto of Italy took the silver medals in 303.90 and Grace Reid / Ross Haslam of Great Britain were third in 302.64.

Chinese pair, photo by Xiong Qi

“I have competed in several World Championships, but it was my first  time competing at the World Cup. I felt excited to compete in front of the local fans. I had three events within one day, it was a big challenge. I am happy I tried my best,” Wang said.

For the Italian duo, their goal was clear: to win a medal!

"We expected to have a medal in the mixed springboard and we did it. It was the reward of our hard work for the last whole year," Verzotto said.

Melissa Citrini Beaulieu / Francois Imbeau-Dulac of Canada suffered a big mistake on their last dive as Beaulieu dove first while Dulac was still on the springboard. They collected only 16.38 and place the 13th as the last finishers.

"We have been practicing for the past two weeks together. It was a very good start of the competition and we did the regular job. However, on the last dive a mistake was made. We win as a team and we lose as a team. It is normal. Our goal is not to make the same mistake in the future," Dulac said.

Beaulieu said she was too concentrated on the changing dive and forgot to look at her partner. 

"Our last dive was supposed to be a big dive. but because I have a synchro event tomorrow and I have a new injury, so I have to take it easy. We put 403B instead of the original one, but I did a mistake on the rhythm," said the 23-year-old Canadian diver.

China so far swept all the 9 gold medals on offer at the FINA Diving World Cup which will come to an end after the men’s 10m platform and women’s 3m springboard synchro on June 10.