POWELL IMPROVES ON OLYMPIC SELECTION PLACING
Stacie Powell flew the flag for British Diving on day two
of the Beijing FINA World Cup and she battled bravely in the
final of the Women's 10m Platform following a nervous start.
With Olympic qualification for Britain already achieved with
a top 18 finish, Powell did a professional job in the semi-final
for a place in the final 12 and a shot at automatic individual
selection courtesy of a top eight finish.
Powell struggled early on to find her rhythm and form but
with nothing to lose she came back strongly and a well executed
back, three-and-a-half somersault put her back among the top
eight with a dive to go.
Unfortunately Powell dropped to ninth off her final inward
three-and-a-half dive with Haley Ishimatsu of the USA grabbing
eighth with a score of 321.15 with Powell in ninth on 319.75.
After securing Olympic qualification for Great Britain on
day one of the World Cup Brooke Graddon (Plymouth Diving)
just missed out on a place in the platform final with a 13th
place semi-final finish.
Graddon improved her qualifying place from 17th to 13th but
a missed final dive saw her slip from an impressive eighth
spot at the end of the penultimate round..
In the Men's 3m Springboard both Ben Swain (City of Sheffield)
and Blake Aldridge (Southampton Diving) struggled against
a world-class field.
Looking for a top 18 finish to guarantee Olympics spots for
Britain, the men were always going to find it tough but they
were disappointed with a 34th place for Aldridge and a 39th
for Swain.
Both will have the chance to dive off for extra Olympic places
in the event on Monday but will have to raise their game to
make certain of a British presence in Beijing this August.
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