From all the aquatic athletes present in Tokyo, the divers are the ones having an advantage over the others: many of them were already at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre for the FINA Diving World Cup, held from May 1-6, 2021. Two months and a half ago, they all praised the excellent facility and expressed one wish: to be back to the Japanese capital for the Games!
The time has finally come: this Sunday, July 25, the Olympic diving competition kicks-off with the final of the women’s 3m springboard. The initial four days of the event will comprise the four synchronised finals, while the individual action includes the 3m finals on August 1 (women) and August 3 (men), and the 10m finals on August 5 (women) and August 7 (men).
3M SPRINGBOARD
Looking into the men’s events, the Tokyo rendezvous will certainly display thrilling moments both in the 3m and platform. In the lower board, China will try to maintain its supremacy in the event: since 1996, the gold medal only escaped once to the Asian powerhouse, when at the London 2012 Games, Ilya Zakharov gave Russia a much-celebrated title: the minor medals went then to the Chinese pair Qin Kai (silver) and He Chong (bronze).
This time, in Japan, team China will present Xie Siyi, 25 years old, and world champion in the 3m at both the 2017 Budapest and 2019 Gwangju showcase. Xie was also first at the 2018 Diving World Cup. He is clearly the most solid athlete of the past Olympic cycle, but will encounter fierce opposition from other experienced divers.
Among them, Jack Laugher (GBR), second at the Rio Olympics in 2016, and bronze medallist at the 2019 Worlds in Gwangju (KOR). At 32, Patrick Hausding, from Germany, is another name to retain: third in Brazil, at the previous Games, he was silver medallist at the 2017 FINA World Championships and was one of the divers present at the 2021 FINA Diving World Cup, where he placed second in the 3m synchronised event.
Other athletes to watch include Haram Woo, from Korea, fourth at home in 2019 during the Worlds and 11th in the event at the recent World Cup, held in this same Tokyo Aquatics Centre. Evgenii Kuznetsov (ROC*), fourth at the last Olympics, is another strong contender in the 3m field, while his compatriot Nikita Shleikher, ninth at the 2019 Worlds is also in Tokyo to improve that ranking.
From Mexico, Rommel Pacheco is always a good asset and will most probably be among the best eight finallists, after a seventh position in Rio 2016, a fourth placing at the 2017 Worlds and an eighth spot two years later in Gwangju. Daniel Restrepo, from Colombia, can create a good surprise, after being the winner of the event at 2018 Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires (ARG) and at almost 40, Ken Terauchi will certainly want to shine at home in what will most probably be his last major appearance: Terauchi was bronze medallist in this event at the… 2001 FINA World Championships in Fukuoka (JPN). From France, the biggest hope is Alexis Jandard, third at the World Cup, this year in Tokyo.
As second “cards” in their pockets, China will count on Wang Zongyuan (world champion in the 1m springboard in 2019), Great Britain will perform with James Heatly (silver at the 2021 World Cup) and Germany has Martin Wolfram, winner of this final in May, in this same venue.
10M PLATFORM
In the 10m platform, usually the most interesting and thrilling final of the entire diving programme, the number of candidates for the podium positions is perhaps lower, but the fight for the gold will certainly be intense.
Since 2000, three gold medals went to China, while Matthew Mitcham (AUS) caused a wave of shock at the Beijing Water Cube in 2008 and David Boudia (USA) was the best at the London 2012 rendezvous.
In Tokyo, the Asian team will appear at its maximum strength, with Cao Yuan and Yang Jian. Cao was the 2016 Olympic champion in the 3m springboard and is actually one of the few athletes excelling in both heights.
If the 2021 gold medal would go to Cao, he would become the first diver to accumulate the Olympic title in the two events, after the back-to-back double of Greg Louganis (USA), in 1984 and 1988. Cao is of course no novice on 10m, having earned the gold at the 2012 Olympics in the synchronised final, and also winning that event at the 2019 Worlds in Korea. His compatriot Yang Jian was the champion of the individual final in Gwangju, improving his silver medal from the 2017 Worlds in Budapest.
The main contender of the Chinese duet will undoubtedly be Thomas Daley, the British superstar. World champion in 2009, and again in 2017, Daley is looking at upgrading his Olympic results so far, which include two bronze medals: in 2012, in the individual final, and in 2016 in the synchronised event. Very solid at the 2021 FINA World Cup – where he won the two 10m finals – the British ace has only to fight against one negative element, his memory from Rio 2016, where he was only 18th in the individual 10m platform.
On the side of the surprises, Woo (as in the 3m) can be also in the spotlight – he was sixth at the 2019 Worlds, after being 10th two years earlier -, while 15-year-old Oleksii Sereda, from Ukraine, is the “joker card” of this final. Technically very strong, he performs quite flawless dives and finished at the podium’s door at the FINA showcase in Korea, two years ago, with two fourth places in both the individual and synchronised 10m event.
Finally, Aleksandr Bondar and Viktor Minibaev (both ROC*) will also be in the fight for the top positions. Bondar is the current world bronze medallist and Minibaev is not so solid in individual, but has already five medals at the World Championships in synchronised 10m.
3M SYNCHRO
In synchronised events, you take many of these “cards”, you shuffle the deck and you play the game. At the end, the same favourite nations emerge, in both 3m and 10m.
In the lower board, China is once more the team to beat, displaying the two 3m individual names, Xie and Wang. It is a new pair at Olympic level, with Xie winning the world championship gold with Cao Yuan in 2019 and taking the silver in 2017. At the Rio Olympics, five years ago, Cao had partnered with Qin Kai, but they couldn’t do better than the bronze medal. Since 2000, China has won this event on three occasions (2000, 2008 and 2012), but experienced two defeats, in 2004 (when the Athens diving pool almost came down with the surprising victory of local heroes Nikos Siranidis and Thomas Bimis), and precisely in 2016, when Laugher and Chris Mears beat the entire field in Rio. Laugher will compete in Tokyo with Daniel Goodfellow (they were silver medallsts at the Gwangju 2019 Worlds), and the British duet will clearly be the main contender for China.
From Germany, Hausding is accompanied by Lars Rudiger, with whom he placed fourth at the last Worlds in 2019. Precisely in Korea, the bronze had gone to Yahel Castillo/Juan Manuel Celaya (MEX), who will of course try to replicate (or even improve) that brilliant performance. From the USA, Mike Hixon can count on his experience, after earning the Olympic silver medal in 2016. At the time, he partnered with Sam Dorman, while in Tokyo he will compete with Andrew Capobianco. Finally, Kuznetsov/Shleikher (ROC*) are also to be taken into consideration, after their fifth place in Gwangju 2019 (Kuznetsov won the world title in this event in 2017, with Zakharov).
10M SYNCHRO
In the 10m synchronised final, China is favourite, with Cao Yuan and Chen Aisen. Both of them (with different partners) have already an Olympic gold medal in this event: Chen won in 2016 with Lin Yue, and Cao successfully paired with Zhang Yanquan for the Games’ title in 2012. Together, Cao and Chen were the best at the 2019 FINA World Championships in Korea. China has won the four last gold medals in the Olympics in this event.
Two years ago in Korea, at the FINA showcase, Russia appeared quite solid with Bondar and Minibaev – the pair won the silver medal -, who are also entered for the Tokyo contention. The podium in Gwangju was completed with Daley and Matthew Lee, from Great Britain, also competing in Japan. Daley is the current Olympic bronze medallist, after pairing with Daniel Goodfellow in Rio 2016.
As with individual events, the revelations are on the side of Korea and Ukraine, with respectively Yeongnam Kim and the tireless Woo (sixth at home two years ago) and with Oleh Serbin and Sereda, fourth in the last FINA Worlds.
*ROC – Russian Olympic Committee