China blitzed to win six out of the eight titles at stake in Madrid (ESP), the first meet of the FINA Diving Grand Prix 2014 held from February 14-16. Australia denied the diving powerhouse nation a complete sweep by clinching the remaining two titles on offer, thanks to young prospect Maddison Keeney in the women’s 3m springboard, individual and synchro (pairing with Anabelle Smith).
China dominated the men’s events, with Shixin Li besting local hope Javier Illana in the 3m springboard. Chinese Zhiyi Sun took third. In the platform competition, Aisen Chen had an outstanding final, leaving the silver for Mexico’s Diego Balleza while compatriot Liang Huo completed the podium. 2008 Olympic champion Matthew Mitcham (AUS) took silver with partner Grand Nel in the men’s 10m platform synchro.
Among women, Australia, which has a formidable reputation for grooming excellent divers, and therefore remains one of China’s strongest rivals, confirms its status with the gold earned by Maddison Keeney in the 3m springboard. China’s Lin Qu and Chunting Wu placed second and third, respectively. In the 10m platform, Qian Ren (CHN) captured gold, ahead of teammate Jie Lian (second) and Rachel Bugg from Australia (third).
MEDALLISTS IN MADRID (ESP)
Men
3m springboard: 1. Shixin Li (CHN) 502.55; 2. Javier Illana (ESP) 472.90; 3. Zhiyi Sun (CHN) 472.30
10m platform: 1. Aisen Chen (CHN) 527.25; 2. Diego Balleza (MEX) 473.60; 3. Liang Huo (CHN) 455.70 3m springboard synchro: 1. Zhiyi Sun/Shixin Li (CHN) 432.15; 2. Grand Nel/Matthew Mitcham (AUS) 395.49; 3. Jonathan Ruvalcaba/Carlos Moreno (MEX) 381.99
10m platform synchro: 1. Aisen Chen/Jian Yang (CHN) 463.59; 2. Jonathan Ruvalcaba/Diego Balleza (MEX) 369.30; 3. Daniel Jensen/Filip Devor (NOR) 351.72
Women
3m springboard: 1. Maddison Keeney (AUS) 321.55; 2. Lin Qu (CHN) 320.20; 3. Chunting Wu (CHN) 311.15
10m platform: 1. Qian Ren (CHN) 405.85; 2. Jie Lian (CHN) 392.35; 3. Rachel Bugg (AUS) 323.50
3m springboard synchro: 1. Anabelle Smith/Maddison Keeney (AUS) 309.66; 2. Lin Qu/Qulin Zheng (CHN) 294.90; 3. Uschi Freitag/Inge Jansen (NED) 277.80
10m platform synchro: 1. Qian Ren/Siyu Ji (CHN) 331.44; 2. Melissa Wu/Rachel Bugg (AUS) 292.44; 3. Carolina Mendoza/Alejandra Estrella (MEX) 261.72
Full FINA Diving Grand Prix 2014 calendar:
No1 in Madrid (ESP) from February 14-16
No2 in Rostock (GER) from February 21-23
No3 in Gatineau (CAN) from May 1-4
No4 in San Juan (PUR) from May 8-11
No5 in Guanajuato (MEX) from May 16-18
No6 in Bolzano (ITA) from August 1-3
No7 in Singapore (SIN) from October 17-19
No8 in Kuala Lumpur (MAS) from October 24-26
This release was provided to SwimSwam by FINA.