WATERFIELD GOES HEAD-TO-HEAD WITH CHINESE
Olympic silver medallist Peter Waterfield returned from a
niggling back injury to win gold in the men's ten-metre platform
final at the ASA Senior National Diving Championship in Southampton
today.
Waterfield, diving on his home patch, was head-and-shoulders
above his fellow British competitors with a winning score
of 550.68 points - a new British record and personal best
for the homegrown Athens hero.
Victory also guaranteed Waterfield qualification for next
month's World Championship, but it was his battle with Olympic
champion Tian Liang which really got the crowd onto the edge
of their seats.
And it proved to be one of the best contests ever witnessed
in Southampton, with both divers determined to succeed ahead
of next month's World Championship in Montreal, Canada, between
July 17-24.
Although competing as a guest meant that Liang could not win
gold, he rose to Waterfield's challenge to score an amazing
561.00 points, with his opponent also raising the bar to thrill
the Southampton crowd.
Waterfield, though, did beat Chinese diver Feng Qin, another
of the world's best divers on route to his medal. Qin finished
in 444.36, over a hundred points behind the British diver.
"That was one of the best competitions I've ever dived
in," revealed Waterfield, who thanked the Southampton
crowd for their warm support afterwards.
"Tian is a legend. To dive so well and get so close to
him, especially before next month's World Championship, was
a fantastic achievement. I don't think I could have dived
any better.
"The crowd were amazing. I've got say a big thank you
to them because the atmosphere was just brilliant.
"I wanted to dive well and to beat one of the Chinese
divers, so do that was a great feeling. It really felt like
a top international competition out there."
Waterfield will be back in training next week, hopefully resuming
practice with ten-metre synchro partner Leon Taylor, so long
as the Sheffield diver has fully recovered from the mystery
virus which resulted in him withdrawing from this year's three-day
competition.
However, despite illness ruling him out of action in Southampton,
National Performance Director Steve Foley has selected Taylor
for the British World Championship team, to compete in both
the ten-metre platform individual and synchro disciplines.
"Peter has dived magnificently, which will give him plenty
of confidence, and I'd be mad not to select Leon," said
Foley, who kept Taylor sweating on his call-up to the team
having missed the important qualifying.
"I'm sure Leon and Peter will dive well in Canada. They
proved that after ten months out that they could win bronze
in Rome - and I've never lost any faith in them."
Silver in the ten-metre platform final went to Plymouth's
Gareth Jones, who scored 399.36, with bronze for Gary Hunt,
of Southampton, with 348.12.
Olympian Tandi Indergaard was in fine form again following
her two gold medals on the opening day of competition.
Indergaard, who yesterday (Friday) became the first British
diver to secure qualification for the World Championship,
added another gold to her impressive medal tally.
The City of Leeds starlet convincingly won the women's three-metre
springboard final with a score of 506.40 points, while Luton
Kingfishers' diver Louise Van Hoof took silver with 476.64
points. a best personal best score for the Bedfordshire-based
ace.
Van Hoof has also achieved the tough World Championship qualifying
standard and will join Indergaard on the plane to a special
Houston training camp before Canada in early July.
Bronze went to Rebecca Galantree, another Leeds diver, who
having finished outside the top three in the preliminaries,
edged ahead of Plymouth's Claire Wonnacott to secure a podium
finish with her score of 452.25.
Olympians Tony Ally and Mark Shipman, both from Sheffield,
have also guaranteed their places in the British World Championship
team after a starring performance in the three-metre springboard
synchro final.
Despite having not dived with each other competitively since
Athens - ten months ago - both Ally and Shipman quickly found
their feet to win gold with a score of 311.19 points.
"We've dived together since 1995, so it comes back to
you pretty quickly," said a happy Shipman, who has been
living in South Africa with his new wife, following his wedding
earlier this year.
"My wife is going to come and live in Sheffield. We're
looking around September time, but for now I'm looking forward
to the World Championship and then the Commonwealth Games
next year."
Shipman and Ally had been hoping to beat Chinese guest pair
Yan Hui and Zhang Sen, two of six Chinese divers competing
in Southampton.
But Hui and Sen just did enough to pip the Sheffield pair
in the 'open' competition with their score of 338.13. Silver
in the domestic competition, however, went to Sheffield's
Ben Swain and Crystal Palace diver Blake Aldridge (288.69)
and bronze to Southampton's very own Tom Owens and Gary Hunt
(271.20).
Meanwhile, Plymouth's Tonia Couch and Sheffield's Claire Blencowe
showed maturity beyond their young years to triumph in the
women's ten-metre platform competition.
The double act won gold with 278.22 points, while Stacie Powell
and Monique McCarroll, Bagiu and Southampton respectively,
took silver (266.46), and bronze went to Gallantree and Leeds'
partner Suzanne Collins (243.54)
The highlight of Sunday's programme will be the men's three-metre
individual competition at 3.00pm, followed immediately by
the women's ten-metre platform final, drawing to a close this
year's championship. Preliminaries started at 10.30am.
- Sheffield's Katie Hamilton is doing "much better"
according to Foley having injured her back in the women's
three-metre synchro final yesterday.
Hamilton was led away from poolside in a wheelchair as a precautionary
measure, but Foley was happy to report that there has been
an improvement in her condition since her unfortunate accident.
British World Championship team so far: Tandi
Indergaard (Leeds), Louise Van Hoof (Luton Kingfishers), Peter
Waterfield (Southampton), Leon Taylor, Mark Shipman, Tony
Ally (Sheffield).
Results after Day 2 of 3.
ASA Senior National Diving Championship (Quays Leisure Centre,
Southampton) -
WOMEN, ten-metre platform synchro final: 1, T Couch
(Plymouth) & C Blencowe (Sheffield) 278.22 pts; 2, S Powell
(Bagiu) & M McCarroll (Southampton) 266.46; 3, R Gallantree
(Leeds) & S Collins (Leeds); 4, S Barrow (Plymouth) &
B Graddon (Plymouth); 5, E Alderman (Southampton) & E
Steel (Southampton) 181.38.
Three-metre springboard final: 1, T Indergaard
(Leeds) 506.40 pts; 2, L V Hoof (Luton) 476.64; 3, R Gallantree
(Leeds) 452.25; 4, E Teather (Leeds) 414.72; 5, C Wonnacott
(Plymouth) 405.66; 6, J McGroarty (Bagiu) 377.40; 7, H Sage
(Beaumont) 373.77; 8, F Ratcliff (Southend) 373.05.
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.
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, three-metre springboard synchro final:
1, T Ally (Sheffield) & M Shipman (Sheffield) 311.19 pts;
2, B Swain (Sheffield) & B Aldridge (Crystal Palace) 311.19;
3, T Owens (Southampton) & G Hunt (Southampton) 271.20;
4, M Holdsworth (Leeds) & C Hallam (Sheffield) 266.04;
5, C Johnstone (Leeds) & C Calvert (Leeds) 244.80; 6,
K Prior (Plymouth) & T Daley (Plymouth) 244.71; 7, L Hazelton
(Luton) & J Clewlow (Southampton) 211.41; 8, D Mulford
(Southampton) & P O'Reilly (Southampton) 205.65; 9, M
Brick (Southampton) & C Mears (Southampton) 192.48. Guest
performances: Yan Hui (China) & Zhang Sen (China) 338.13.
Ten-metre platform synchro final: 1, P Waterfield
(Southampton) 550.68 pts; 2, G Jones (Plymouth) 399.36; 3,
G Hunt (Southampton) 348.12; 4, C Johnstone (Leeds) 346.65;
5, C Calvert (Leeds) 340.17; 6, T Daley (Plymouth) 325.77;
7, T Owens (Southampton) 309.84; 8, D Osborne (Southend) 282.99.
Guest performances: T Liang (China) 561.00; F Qin (China)
444.36.
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.
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.
|