TANDI TAKES DOUBLE GOLD BUT LEON'S OUT
TANDI Indergaard had plenty to savour on the opening day
of the ASA Senior National Diving Championship in Southampton.
The Athens Olympian showed solid form on route to two gold
medals in the one-metre springboard final and her favoured
three-metre springboard at the Quays Leisure Centre, but more
importantly performed well enough to secure qualification
for next month's World Championship in Montreal, Canada, which
run between 17-24 July.
In the one-metre individual competition, the opening discipline
of this year's tough three-day event, Indergaard scored an
impressive 244.26 points to secure a first-place podium finish
ahead of club-mate Rebecca Galantree.
However, in the preliminary stages she had dived better with
a score of 257.37, with Luton Kingfisher's Louise Van Hoof
second in qualifying with 226.44.
But even though City of Leeds' starlet Indergaard wasn't at
her sparkling best, she deservedly scooped honours in the
final, while Sheffield's Katie Hamilton was also in the medals
with a bronze.
Indergaard then went on to win her second gold, this time
alongside new diving partner Hayley Sage, from the Beaumont
Diving Institute, in the three-metre synchro final.
The pair won by the narrowest of margins, though, with Van
Hoof and Jodie McGroarty pushing them all the way.
Indergaard and Sage snatched victory, however, with a score
of 245.79, with Van Hoof and McGroarty just 0.18 points behind
in second place, a silver for their efforts.
Bronze went to Rebecca Gallantree and Emma Teather, the City
of Leeds duo, who scored 239.46.
However, the three-metre final was close all the way and if
it had not been for a mistake on their last dive, Sheffield's
Claire Blencowe and Katie Hamilton would have more than likely
scooped honours.
Earlier the men's ten-metre platform synchro competition was
moved forward from it's slot at the end of the day after an
injury to Blencowe.
Organisers sportingly gave Blencowe extra time to get back
from hospital, having been taken there with a hand-injury
suffered while warming-up.
An x-ray, and a few hours later, Blencowe returned to compete
alongside Hamilton.
But the day went from bad to worse for the pair after Hamilton
landed horribly on her back just as a medal loomed.
The South Yorkshire diver struggled to get out of the pool
and received immediate treatment afterwards.
It is unclear as to whether she will compete the rest of the
weekend having being taken away in a wheelchair as a precautionary
measure.
"Katie was in a bad way, her back was spasming because
she hit the water all wrong," revealed Steve Foley, Britain's
National Performance Director.
"She whipped her head back on impact, but hopefully she
recovers as quickly as possible."
Despite Hamilton's unfortunate injury, the opening day was
a successful one for many other divers.
Sheffield's Ben Swain showed his growing confidence with a
mature performance in the men's one-metre springboard final.
Swain won gold with a score of 319.32 points, while Crystal
Palace diver Blake Aldridge (275.97) - a bronze-medal winner
at the Rome Grand Prix in Italy earlier this month - took
silver, and promising Leeds teenager Callum Johnstone (275.34)
grabbed bronze, only 0.63 points adrift.
The highlight of the day should have been the ten-metre platform
synchro final, but Olympic silver medallists Peter Waterfield
and Leon Taylor both withdrew from competition on the opening
day.
Taylor will miss all three days of this year's competition
having contracted a mystery virus, but Waterfield will dive
this weekend having only withdrawn from the one-metre springboard
because of a back niggle.
"Leon's got a very good chance of going to the World
Championship, but at this stage I want to see how the other
divers perform," added Foley.
"It's obviously very frustrating for Leon and Peter that
they can't compete together, especially Leon, but I'll make
a decision at the end of the competition as to whether Leon
will be selected."
This season has been especially frustrating for Taylor who
was sidelined for three months after a car crash in which
he suffered back and neck injuries, while Waterfield has also
been plagued by injuries which have kept him from competing
with his high-board partner, apart from when they won bronze
in Italy last month at the Rome Grand Prix - the first time
they had dived together for nearly ten months.
But Taylor is confident the pair can still chase success in
Canada even without as much practice as they would have ideally
liked.
"It's very frustrating having to withdraw, but I need
to get better before the World Championship. I've got to let
my body fight the virus and hopefully I'm back training as
soon as possible," revealed Taylor, still confident he
will make the British team.
"If it was the Olympic Games then I might have competed,
but there's no sense in diving when I'm not well. Unfortunately
me and Peter seem to time it perfectly - if I'm fit he's injured,
and vice versa."
With the World Championship just around the corner Taylor
can't wait to make a splash in the pool again - and even though
he and Waterfield lack international competition this season,
the Sheffield star is confident experience will help the duo
taste honours again.
"We proved in Rome that we could raise the bar under
pressure - and we didn't dive as well as we can," added
Taylor.
"It just confirms that our experience of diving together
is a big advantage. It would have been great to have dived
together here in Southampton, but the focus has to be the
World Championship."
ASA Senior National Diving Championship (Quays
Leisure Centre, Southampton, Day 1 of 3) -
WOMEN, one-metre springboard final: 1,
T Indergaard (Leeds) 244.26 pts; 2, R Gallantree (Leeds) 238.05;
3, K Hamilton (Sheffield) 217.35; 4, L V Hoof (Luton) 216.90;
5, R Whiting (Sheffield) 211.77; 6, C Tomkys (Southampton)
208.26; 7, H Sage (Beaumont) 204.75; 8, E Teather (Leeds)
200.46.
MEN, one-metre springboard final: 1, B Swain
(Sheffield) 319.32 pts; 2, B Aldridge (Crystal Palace) 275.97;
3, C Johnstone (Leeds) 275.34; 4, G Hunt (Southampton) 273.93;
5, C Hallam (Sheffield) 266.67; 6, T Owens (Southampton) 264.45;
7, G Jones (Plymouth) 260.07; 8, T Daley (Plymouth) 245.46.
WOMEN, three-metre synchro springboard final:
1, T Indergaard (Leeds) & H Sage (Beaumont) 245.79 pts;
2, L V Hoof (Leeds) and J McGroarty (Bagiu) 245.61; 3, R Gallantree
(Leeds) & E Teather (Leeds) 239.46; 4, C Blencowe (Sheffield)
& K Hamilton (Sheffield) 228.81; 5, E Alderman (Southampton)
& E Steel (Southampton) 183.81.
MEN, ten-metre platform synchro final: 1,
G Hunt (Southampton) & G Jones (Plymouth) 286.59 pts;
2, S Hydes (Sheffield) & C Mears (Southampton) 228.78;
3, D Mulford (Southampton) & P O'Reilly (Southampton)
205.17; 4, A Franklin (Beaumont) & M Roberts (Beaumont)
193.86.
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