Chinese divers storm three more golds at FINA/NVC Diving World Series

Poor dives and below-par forms did not stop Chinese divers to winning streak when Shi Tingmao, Cao Yuan and the par Wang Han/Yang Hao continued to claim three titles on the second day of the FINA/NVC Diving World Series 2016 taking place in Beijing on Saturday March 12.

China so far grabbed all seven gold medals on offer so far at the World Series, currently running at the National Aquatics Centre, also known as the "Water Cube".

Even suffering from poor fourth dive, her worst performance so far at an international appearance, Shi Tingmao (CHN), current World champion and World Cup winner, confirmed her supremacy in her pet event, the 3m springboard and won the title with 348.10 points.

He Zi (CHN) came to second with 338.10 points and Pamela Ware of Canada third with 322.15.

Shi enjoyed her lead from the first three rounds before her fourth dive 107B which received the lowest points of the round 49.60.

"It has to be the worst performance of my career. I had a big mistake in my 107B which was always my weak point during training sessions. I did not expect to make this mistake in an international competition. It is a good lesson for me," Shi said.

He, who suffered from her chronic waist injury in the first dive, fought until the last round and secured a silver medal.

"I pushed too hard in my first dive which made my waist injury even more painful. I couldn’t stand up straight after that dive. But I never thought about quitting the competition. It would never, ever happen to me. I need to experience this kind of situation and overcome all the difficulties and challenges. The preparation for the Olympic Games is a great process to help me become stronger in my mind. I hope all the efforts will pay off," said He, who claimed the women's 3m synchro springboard title together with Wang Han on Day 1 of the Diving World Series.

Cao Yuan and He Chao (CHN) had a one-two finish in the men's 3m springboard with 498.05 and 472.40 points, while Evgenii Kuznetsov of Russia took the bronze (466.20).

Cao, who teamed up with Qin Kai for the synchro 3m springboard yesterday, took the lead after his third dive 307C and earned a high score of 93.10 for his last 109C.

"I did not show my best form today and my score was even lower than 500 points. However, I really enjoyed my victory in the individual event as I did not win an individual event in a long time. I wish I could regain the winning form from now on and make more improvements" Cao said.

He, World champion in Kazan World Championships last year and FINA Best Male Diver of the Year, overcame his high fever of 38.4 and poor 5172B and 307C dives. Fortunately, He's last dive 109C helped him come back from behind to the second place for a day-high 95 points.

"I have never competed with a high fever before and I could not switch myself into good form. I felt lucky to win silver. It is good that I experience different situation during the competition. Since I am young, I need to gain more experience and confidence" He said.

China's Wang Han/Yang Hao collected 327.60 points to win the mixed 3m synchro springboard, followed by Jennifer Abel/Francois Imbeau-Dulac of Canada (294.24) and Tania Cagnotto/Maicol Verzotto of Italy (289.20).

It was Jennifer Abel's second final competition of the day but she enjoyed the mixed synchro.

"I feel different to compete in individual, synchro and mixed synchro. I enjoy the feeling of competing with a man in the mixed event, especially Francois that and I know since each we were 15 years old. But we miss a lot of practice together since Kazan World Championships. We only trained together for like three times," Jennifer said.

Jennifer is also one of the three women divers to use 5154B, the highest DD for women's springboard event while most divers choose 5152B.

"It is the most consistent dive that whenever I dive I feel comfortable. I will definitely use it at Rio 2016 and this is why I tried it at every competition since last year.”

A total of 67 international divers, 34 women and 33 men, from 12 countries and regions take part in the FINA/NVC Diving World Series in Beijing.

There are 10 events on offer at the four-leg circuit World Series, including four individual events and six synchro in the men's and women's 3m springboard and 10m platform.