YOUNG DIVERS SHOW PROMISE IN STOCKHOLM
Great Britain's young divers showed maturity beyond their
years with a series of commanding performances at this weekend's
Champions Cup in Sweden.
With a number of the national team's big guns not competing
it was a chance for the next wave of medal hopefuls to try
their luck against the world's elite in Stockholm.
Olympic silver medallists Peter Waterfield and Leon Taylor
were both absent, as were Sheffield pairing Tony Ally and
Mark Shipman.
Taylor and Shipman used this weekend to get some extra practice
in ahead of the forthcoming US and Canadian Grand Prixs, while
Waterfield and Ally nursed back injuries.
All four divers are preparing to win medals at the World Championships
in Montreal later this year.
So the door was thrown wide open for teenagers Sarah Barrow
and Tonia Couch to test themselves in the 10m Platform competition,
while fellow Plymouth diver Gareth Jones also had the chance
to perform off the high board having performed well at the
Chinese Grand Prix last month.
Crystal Palace's Blake Aldridge competed, but a back injury
hampered his progress, while Hayley Sage partnered Olympian
Tandi Indergaard - the only experienced campaigner - in the
3m Springboard competition.
Yorkshire splash sensation Indergaard performed well but suffered
heartache as she was denied a medal in the 3 metre springboard
individual competition despite a string of impressive dives.
Indergaard, formerly Gerrard until her summer wedding, finished
fourth in her first international competition since winning
three golds at the British National Championships at Ponds
Forge in Sheffield earlier this year.
"Tandi performed really well," said Adi Hinchcliffe,
her coach at the City of Leeds, who also accompanied the British
team to Stockholm.
"She's not peaking yet - and we don't want her to at
the moment. She was disappointed she didn't medal, but she
can take a lot of positives from this weekend."
Indergaard also dived well alongside Beaumont's Sage in the
3 metre synchronised competition despite having only competed
with her new diving partner on just a few occasions.
Indergaard and Sage finished a credible fifth position in
this year's final having come fourth in the preliminaries.
"It was a great performance from Tandi and Hayley considering
they've not dived with each other much," added Hinchcliffe.
"Every one competition is another stepping stone on the
way to the World Championships. Tandi wants to win a medal."
Competing in their first senior competition for Great Britain,
Couch (15) and Barrow (16) were not overshadowed by their
more experienced counterparts, both doing well in the 10m
Platform synchronised competition.
The talented duo qualified for this year's final in third
position, but were edged into fourth place in the final by
just a few points.
Barrow also competed in the individual competition and finished
a credible seventh position, but missed out on a place in
the final by the slenderest of margins.
"Sarah and Tonia didn't show any nerves despite competing
against some big names," said Hinchcliffe.
"It's only right they should get the chance to compete
at senior level because they could be our next medal hopes
in four years time at the Beijing Olympics. It was good experience
for both the girls."
Meanwhile, Jones produced a sparkling performance in the 10m
individual competition, but also just missed out on a medal.
The 20-year-old then teamed up with Southampton's Gary Hunt
for the 10m Platform synchro, but despite some high-scoring
dives narrowly failed to qualify for the final with a seventh
place finish.
"Gareth is making good progress," continued Hinchcliffe,
who was pleased with the British team's overall performance
over the weekend.
"He dived well in China, but this is by far his best
performance at senior competitions. He's another diver we
hold high hopes for.
"It's been a good weekend for the British team. It's
a young team and they've done well against some good competitors."
Great Britain team: Tonia Couch, Gareth Jones,
Sarah Barrow (Plymouth DC); Tandi Indergaard (City of Leeds
DC); Blake Aldridge (Crystal Palace); Hayley Sage (Beaumont
DA); Gary Hunt (Southampton DA).
|