Xie Siyi gives China its fifth gold in diving

After being second until the last round of the semifinals, Xie Siyi (CHN) then performed an outstanding forward 4 ½ somersaults (tuck), scoring 100.70 and finishing first, ahead of his teammate Wang Zongyuan. It was a strong sign to his main contender, underlining that the final had to be contested until the last minute of it. In the second individual diving medal-event of these Games, the men’s 3m springboard, the Chinese pair Xie/Wang confirmed its favourite status, and Xie once more reaffirmed his dominance in the event, getting the gold in 558.75. Wang was second in 534.90, while the bronze went to the third best also in the semis, Jack Laugher (GBR), in 518.00.

This is the second title (and Olympic medal) for Xie, after the gold in the synchro event, but also a logic consecration after the two world crowns in the last FINA showcases – Budapest 2017 and Gwangju 2019. Xie was also world champion in the 1m at the 2015 FINA Worlds in Kazan (RUS). Throughout the final, the 25-year-old kept his concentration and determination at the highest level, not committing any major mistake. His best score was achieved in the final round, also with the forward 4 ½ somersaults, tuck (109C), for which he received 102.60 points. Moreover, for Team China this is the fifth gold in diving at these Games, out of six events contested so far (the Asian powerhouse only lost the men’s 10m platform synchro to the British pair Tom Daley and Matty Lee). 

Wang, who paired with Xie for the gold in synchro, was also quite solid throughout the six-dive final, excelling also in the 109C (same points as Xie). At almost 20 (on October 24), he is definitively one of the stars of the Chinese team with best potential to continue winning medals at this level. Before the Tokyo rendezvous, Wang’s main achievement was a world gold medal in the 1m springboard in Gwangju 2019. 

Since 1996, this is the sixth (out of seven) Olympic title for China in this event: the only time the Asian lost the gold was in 2012, when Qin Kai was second, behind an amazing Ilya Zakharov, from Russia. In Rio 2016, it was Cao Yuan’s occasion to shine, followed by Laugher.

The British ace was naturally aiming at repeating that performance, but the Chinese duo was too strong this afternoon at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre. The 26-year-old, with two Olympic medals before arriving in Japan – Rio 2016 gold in 3m synchro and silver in individual -, has also two third places at World Championships in this event, in 2015 and 2019. Laugher’s best dive during the final was also the 109C, but “only” with 96.90.

The fourth position went to Haram Woo, from Korea, very consistent during the three rounds of the competition. Concluding in 481.85, he also managed a convincing 109C, scoring 91.20 in the third round. 

ROMMEL PACHECO AND KEN TERAUCHI

The final was particularly emotional for Rommel Pacheco (MEX) and Ken Terauchi (JPN), finishing their long career here in Tokyo. For Pacheco (sixth in 428.75), 35 years old, it’s the end of a trajectory that included three medals at the FINA World Championships (two silver and one bronze), while at 40 (to be completed this Saturday), the Japanese star received a standing ovation from all the athletes present in the stands, celebrating a career that spanned for 25 years – he took part at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta and got a bronze in the 3m springboard event at the 2001 FINA World Championships, in Fukuoka (JPN). For his farewell, he 12^th of the final, in 359.70.

NON-QUALIFIED FOR THE FINAL 

Five hours earlier, in the semis, and besides the above-mentioned Chinese duel for the top positions, strategy had played a huge role in the qualification of the best 12 for the final. Then, more than ever, the right choice of the Degree of Difficulty (DD), combined with the ability of correctly performing the dives, dictated the outcome of this intermediate stage. The first to pay the price for perhaps daring too much (by choosing high DD) were the two Colombians selected after the preliminaries. Both Daniel Restrepo (winner of this event at the 2018 Youth Olympic Games) and Sebastian Morales were not up to the difficulty of their programme and failed on several occasions. In the end, they concluded in 17^th and 18^th, respectively.

For Jonathan Ruvalcaba (DOM), 13^th and first non-qualified for the final, his six rounds also did not go as expected, while Mexico’s Osmar Olvera (14^th) also shook in some of his most complicated combinations. Finally, Yona Knight-Wisdom (JAM, 15^th) and Alexis Jandard (FRA, 16^th) started well their six-round semi-final, but technical mistakes in the entry for the Jamaican and disorientation in the air at the board for the French dictated their non-qualification for the final.

On the other side of the field, both Anton Down-Jenkins (NZL) and Kerauchi chose easy programmes and executed them quite well and solidly. That was enough to guarantee the place in the final, respectively with the eighth and seventh best score of the semis. The representative of New Zealand would repeat the same ranking in the final, closing the top-8 of the competition. 

In the preliminaries, on Monday, the fate had been unfavorable to Patrick Hausding (GER), only 21^st after several problems with his dives. The most notorious was a loss of balance in his third round, before performing a forward 2 ½ somersaults 2 twists. The German star had to restart and got a 2.0 deduction from each of the judges, for a total of 32.30. The fourth and sixth combination weren’t also successful (45.90 and 52.65) and the 32-year-old finished in this difficult way his participation in Tokyo, after getting the bronze in the synchronised event. In Rio 2016, he had also been third in the individual 3m, while his best Olympic participating remains London 2012, with a silver medal in the 10m synchro.

"The performance was really unsatisfying. I can't explain it. I was feeling very good, I was not nervous at all, at least not until I failed the first time. I'm missing the words. In comparison to what happened six days ago, this is the complete opposite. I’ve barely dealt with such a competition like that in my career. And so I don't know what to say. I'm just sad. But that’s diving - everything is decided in milliseconds”, offered Hausding after the preliminaries. 

The heats were also a nightmare for Nikita Shleikher, finishing in a disappointing 24^th position. The Russian (22 years old) never appeared focused on his mission, and despite two final regular rounds, the initial four combinations were all shaky. His teammate Evegnii Kuznetsov advanced to the final, to conclude fifth (461.90), despite two excellent final dives - but a miserable fourth round spoiled the chance for an eventual medal. 

QUOTES

Gold

Xie Siyi (CHN): 

On how he would assess himself:

“I’ll give myself full marks. It’s really not been easy all these years. I want to thank myself for not giving up on myself.”

On his tears and emotions:

(while speaking through tears) “For me, so much has happened before coming here to compete. I had to make that psychological adjustment in a short time, whether it’s in your training or competing. On one hand, you’re doing it for your country. On the other hand, it’s for your own dreams. The fact that I’ve had many injuries along the way is also a factor.

“At the end of the final, I felt like all the stress and burdens I was carrying had been relieved. Before the competition, I didn’t think too much. I kept thinking of my coach’s voice, Coach Wu. His voice was constantly on my mind. I just kept reminding myself (of him).

“I just thought to myself, I’ve done it. I didn’t let everyone down. I also feel proud of myself. This is my first Olympic Games and I’ve had to go through a lot. To win gold here, I’ve also achieved my ‘grand slam’.”

On veterans Terauchi and Pacheco, who were applauded after the event: 

“That is the true Olympic spirit. They overcame so much to be here. The pandemic, and their own age. To still be competing for their country and fighting for glory for their nation at this age, that’s something that we really ought to learn from.”

Silver

Wang Zongyuan (CHN):

On whether he felt gold was within reach:

“I did want to go for gold. I felt I did pretty well in the preliminaries and semifinals, so even yesterday I thought I should aim for it. For us, born after 2000, we don’t fear anything and we should just go for it. I’m still young, there’s still a long runway ahead of me. Before the competition I was rather nervous. I was also afraid that I would make some mistakes. So I had to adjust myself psychologically and communicate with my coach so that I could perform in the final.”

On his performance:

"I’m satisfied with how I did. It’s my first time and to come away with a medal, I’m happy about it, but this is just the beginning. I came close to the gold so I hope I can continue in this direction."

On whether he felt pressure from Jack Laugher, who took the bronze medal:

"During the competition, I just focus on my dives. I might take a peek at the points of other divers but I still put more attention on myself.

"This is a great help for my future career. This is a great foundation to build on and helps me understand what I still need to do for the future."

Bronze

Jack Laugher (GBR):

On winning the bronze medal:

“It feels amazing. These are my third Games: I had terrible ones in London, and an absolutely amazing experience in Rio. Here, I was again in good shape! It has been a tough couple of years, but with a great help from my family and fans, things are now definitely better”.

On failing some dives in decisive moments of his career:

“In Gwangju, at the 2019 Worlds, I badly failed my last dive, and I was doing this mistake very often. On that moment, I thought: ‘I have already a long and great career - this is it, I’m making the same mistake over and over, losing myself in the air, being scared of doing a dive’. It was hard for me to analyse things and see that it was pretty much mental. From that point, I got help from a psychologist and from my family. Today, this final here in Tokyo, it was a kind redemption to me, I’m ‘back’ to myself and to my two feet. I am again consistent and able to win”.

On the help provided by his supporters throughout this period:

“I must thank everyone, all this support meant the world to me. Also, these Olympics will be remembered as a unique opportunity to bring so much people together”.