The competition started well for the 14-year-old and he scored a 9.5s and a 10 on his first dive to put him in the lead. But Junior World Champion Qui Bo (China) looked set to ruin Daley’s chances of a medal after he went onto score 86.40 on his second dive, while Daley only scored 72.00 points.

The third round saw Daley fall into fourth place after Mittcham performed his Inward 3 ½ Somersaults tucked excellently and he moved ahead of the Brit. Daley came into his own in the fourth round with his Armstand Back Triple Somersault tucked and he secured his second score of 10. The Olympic finalist performed his Back 3 ½ Somersaults tucked excellently and scored four tens to enter the final round in the lead. Liang executed his highest tariff dive in the final round, the Back 2 ½ Somersaults 2 ½ Twists piked, and scored 102.60 and finished with a total of 541.55but the gold medal was still within Daley’s grasp.


He Zi (CHN)

Daley took to the platform for his Reverse 3 ½ Somersaults tucked and scored three more 10s and finished the final with a score of 540.85 and he lay in second place as Bo prepared for his dive.

Bo was using the same dive as Liang and although he scored well he couldn’t catch his rival, Daley, and took bronze in a score of 540.50.

On his gold medal Liang said: “I am really excited about the result tonight. I have only had one week’s preparation for my individual list and so I am happy with the result.
“This was my first individual performance of 2009 and I am going to Mexico hoping for another good result.”

Daley, who has twice been beaten by Bo, enjoyed his silver medal but is looking forward to learning new dives to increase his tariff.

“I was thinking before the last dive ‘just go for it’ and I went up there and just enjoyed it,” Daley said. “I was competing against Olympic Champions and the World Junior Champion and I didn’t even think I was going to get a medal let alone almost win the event.

“To be able to be silver medallist with the lowest degree of difficulty is pretty good. When it comes to Rome I am just going to go there and enjoy it and aim to break the 500 point barrier again.”

The Chinese pair of Qin Kai and Zhang Xinhua took the gold medal in the men’s 3m Synchro after securing good marks throughout the competition to impress the crowds within Ponds Forge.

Only one point separated the top three teams after the required dives and it wasn’t until the optional ones that China began to put space between themselves and the field.
They didn’t perform their optional dives to their usual standard but still scored consistently with high tariff dives to give themselves a 30 point lead after the fourth round.
Kai and Xinhua finished with a score of 441.54 to take the gold medal.

“There is no secret as to why we have performed so well it is just down to the hard work and training that we put in on a daily basis.

“That wasn’t a great performance for us and we hope to be able to improve on that in the future. It is a new team and the co-ordination is good and the synchronisation has come along as well.

“We are competing in Mexico next and we are aiming to score higher than that in that competition.”

The fight for silver was left to the British Gas Diving duo, the German team and the Ukrainian team. Hausding and Feck were in second place after their third round dive (Forward 2 ½ Somersaults 2 Twist piked) with Robinson-Baker and Swain close behind them.

After the fourth round, Robinson-Baker and Swain were only two points behind the Germans, but it was the fifth round that saw the three teams fall within only one point of each other leaving the fight for second place down to the final round.

Ukraine’s Illya Kvasha and Oleksiy Prygorov missed their Reverse 2 ½ Somersaults 1 ½ Twists piked to leave the silver medal up for grabs. Robinson-Baker and Swain performed their Forward 2 ½ Somersaults 2 Twists piked excellently to score 8s and finish with an impressive score of 420.75.

The German pair took to the boards and executed their Reverse 2 ½ Somersaults 1 ½ Twists piked well and overtook the Brits to steal the silver medal out of their grasp with a final score of 424.62.

The British Gas Diving duo secure their second bronze medal of the series and now lie within a good chance of winning the overall ranking for the entire series.

“It felt good today,” Swain said. “We were happy to use our new dive and to score well from it. The medals we have got in the series are all part of our build up towards 2012.
“We are constantly improving with our diving and we are working hard towards the Rome World Championships.”

The women’s 3m Springboard saw China again dominate the competition with a series of impressive dives on their way to taking the gold medal.

The 2008 Chinese National Champion He Zi took an early lead and impressed the crowds with her skill as she extended her lead with an excellent Forward 3 ½ Somersaults piked.

She had a 40 point lead over her closest competitor entering the final round and after performing her Forward 2 ½ Somersaults 1 Twist piked to score 8s she finished with a final score of 371.25.

“I'm very happy with the result,” Zi said. “It’s very exciting to be a part of such a successful Chinese team and the results here have been pleasing. The FINA Diving World Series is a great competition and to be a part of it is special.


Huo Liang (CHN)

The battle for second place was down to Italy’s Tania Cagnotto and Kelci Bryant (America) and after the fourth round only ten points separated the girls. Cagnotto performed her final dive (Reverse 2 ½ Somersaults piked) well and scored 8s to put pressure on Bryant.

The American dropped marks on her Forward 2 ½ Somersaults 1 Twist to fall almost twenty points behind the Italian. Cagnotto won silver with a score of 325.95 while Bryant took bronze with a total of 307.50.

China’s Wang Xin and Kang Li performed impressively in the women’s 10m Platform to take the gold medal and help their country to the another FINA Diving World Series title.
However, after the second round they lay in joint second place behind Australia’s Olympic silver medallists Briony Cole and Melissa Wu.

As the competition moved into the optional rounds the Chinese team moved into the lead with an excellent Front 2 ½ Somersaults piked. They extended their lead in the fourth round and finally took gold with a total of 348.36.

The silver medal was won by Meaghan Benfeito and Roseline Filion of Canada as they benefitted from Cole and Wu’s missed Back 2 ½ Somersaults 1 ½ Twists piked. Benfeito and Filion took a total of 320.22. Cole and Wu finished in third place with a score of 315.54.