TAYLOR AND WATERFIELD PROVE THEY ARE STILL TOP OF THEIR
GAME
Leon Taylor (29) and Peter Waterfield (25) put in an impressive
performance on the second day of the 2007 GB Diving Championships
to claim their first title 2006.
Diving for the first time this year the duo confirmed their
placing at the top of British Diving; Taylor, of the City
of Sheffield Diving Club, and Waterfield, of Southampton Diving
Club, put in a top class performance earning them the British
Championship platform synchronised title.
The duo earned an impressive 449.88 points from their six
dives, in second place was Callum Johnstone (Leeds) and Gary
Hunt (Southampton) with 394.77 points and in third place was
Tom Owens and Gareth Jones (Southampton) with 382.26 points.
Taylor, who has recovered from a shoulder injury this year,
is encouraged by the way they dived today.
"We really couldn't have asked for more from our first
performance this year," he said. "The dives were
excellent, we may have been slightly out a couple of times
but it's the little things that we can perfect."
"I'm relieved to have come back from injury and to have
been so successful. It is the first time we have done the
full dive list and it worked well. We are both feeling good
about our dives, and feel that we have more to give in the
coming months."
"I would like to say a big thank you to Pete for sticking
with me through the year as it has been hard. He hasn't looked
for a new partner and has persevered with me through this
injury and we are both hopeful in the run up to the Worlds."
Waterfield added: "It has been a tough year for both
of us, but we have come back with excellent dives and a good
synchro performance."
"It was hard for us to miss the Commonwealth Games but
we are now looking forward and putting in our preparations
towards the World Championships."
The closest competition of the day was found in the women's
platform event going into the final the scores were too close
to call.
With Stacie Powell's final dive she secured first place in
the competition and the British title with a score of 664.70.
With Tonia Couch having a restart on her fourth dive her
chances of a medal were not looking good, but with an excellent
final dive she secured final scores of nines and tens giving
her an overall score of 598.05. Monique McCarroll came in
third place with a final score of 552.50
Powell was excited at her victory.
"I'm a bit speechless," she said. "It was
so close and I wanted to win so much, I am happy with the
way I dived and winning the title is excellent."
Of her final dive Couch stated:
"I was really pleased with my final dive it was excellent,
after my restart the pressure was really on me and I didn't
want to make a mistake in my final dive. But I think I performed
well today."
In the Women's 3m synchro event, Tandi Gerrard (Leeds) and
Hayley Sage (Sheffield) had a comfortable lead and claimed
gold with 277.74 points, in second place was Elizabeth Heald
and Joie McGroaty (Sheffield) with 257.88 and Sophie Clark
and Charly Tomkys (Southampton) were third with 208.65 points.
Gerrard and Sage add this title to the bronze medal they
won at the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne in March.
Tandi Gerrard confirmed how pleased she was at winning the
gold medal.
"Everything just seemed to fit together out there and
our synchronisation was excellent," she said. "The
championships have been quite tough, the competition out there
was really good this year so we are proud to be British Champions."
Sage was also happy with the way they performed on the second
day of competition.
"We achieved a personal best score and it has made all
our hard work worthwhile," she said. "We are progressing
and people that saw us can see that our performance has matured."
The men's 3m springboard final was close with Tony Ally taking
the lead with 797.10 points giving him the British title and
in second place was Blake Adridge with a points score of 796.20
The day was concluded with two finals and two World Championship
dive offs.
The top two finalists in the Men's 3m springboard and the
women's platform will travel to Melbourne for the World Championships
alongside the winners of the men's platform synchro and women's
3m synchro dive offs.
The athletes travelling to Melbourne will be Tony Ally and
Blake Aldridge, Tonia Couch and Stacie Powell, Leon Taylor
and Peter Waterfield and Tandi Gerrard and Hayley Sage.
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