DALEY AND ALDRIDGE CLOSE IN ON OLYMPIC DREAM
Young Tom Daley and team mate Blake Aldridge took another
step towards their dream of competing at the 2008 Beijing
Olympic Games with victory off the 10m at the British Diving
Championships.
In only their second ever outing together, the pair showed
a consistent level of quality with some real moments of brilliance
to take scores of 9.5.
Daley and Aldridge posted 431.25 with their best dive coming
in round five, a back 3.5 somersault, that drew a score of
over 90.
With qualification to next month's Beijing World Cup assured
without even leaving the board, following the withdrawal of
the synchro pairing of Leon Taylor (hernia) and Pete Waterfield,
the pair experienced a very different kind of pressure.
"We missed a couple of dives but have to be pleased
with our final score considering we have only dived together
twice and have gone over 430 every time," said a delighted
Daley.
"It was a very different pressure we felt today. It
wasn't that of trying to qualify and competing against Leon
and Pete, it was handling a level of expectation that we hadn't
encountered before. It was a valuable lesson though.
"We'll go to Madrid soon where we will face a different
level of competition again as most of those in action will
be in Beijing the following month aiming to qualify for the
Olympics. It will be a good test for us and we're very excited."
Aldridge was pleased with the pair's performance but feels
there is still more to come and this will happen through improvements
made to some of their routines.
"We both made mistakes today but we know that given
more time training together and building our relationship
off the platform, we can put those right," said Aldridge.
"We looked at the possibility of teaming up for the
synchro some time last year but it just didn't work our. Our
coaches didn't give up though and it's really paid off.
"We are really well matched, we jump at the same height,
spin at the same speed and have an understanding that is making
us a strong prospect for the future.
"The chance to qualify Britain for the Olympics next
month is a real honour and it's entirely in our own hands
now. It's going to be very difficult but the opportunity is
ours."
Silver went to the Greek pairing of Ioannis Gavrilidis and
Sotirios Trakas with 399.72 while Gary Hunt and Gareth Jones
(Southampton) took the bronze with 375.45. The pairing of
Max Brick and Jack Clelow (Southampton) was the third highest
British team.
Day two of the British Championships at Manchester Aquatic
Centre saw Tandi Gerrard (City of Leeds) and Hayley Sage (City
of Sheffield) take gold in the Women's 3m Synchro following
a very strong display.
The pair, already selected for the Beijing World Cup, never
looked threatened and dived consistently to finish with a
score of 300.90 - only the second time a British pair has
gone over the 300 mark.
Louise Van Hoof (Southampton) and Jodie McGroarty (City of
Sheffield) took silver with 269.31 and bronze went to Eleni
Chatzimitrou and Eftychia Pappa of Greece with 261.57. Louise
Moran (City of Leeds) and Grace Reid (Edinburgh) were the
third British pairing with 246.24.
"It was a great score for us. Jane Smith and I scored
302 at the Athens Olympics so to get close to that is fantastic,"
said Gerrard.
"It just shows what we're capable of given a good preparation.
We were very well prepared which gave us a massive lift and
it all felt very positive.
"There was a lot more confidence out there because we've
been able to train together regularly without injuries preventing
us from doing that.
"To be honest, I was a little disappointed with the
final dive and if we had got that right then our score could
have been even higher and that is a very exciting prospect.
"There was a lot of pressure on us today. We had already
qualified for the World Cup but because of that we had to
really prove ourselves. If we had finished second or third
then it would have been a disaster for us so it was intense.
"I'm very excited about Beijing next month. It's a big
task for us to qualify for the Olympics but we're in great
shape which we proved today so anything is possible."
In the Men's 3m Damien Cely of France fended off the British
challenge to take gold in 453.25. Ben Swain (City of Sheffield)
took the silver with 426.60 and Aldridge, with a gold already
in his bag, took the bronze with 422.50. Third placed Brit
went to Nicholas Robinson-Baker (City of Sheffield) with 406.25.
The Women's 10m final saw the British title go down to the
final dive after a thrilling contest between Brooke Graddon
(Plymouth) and Stacie Powell (Southampton).
Graddon eventually took gold after improving throughout the
five rounds of dives. She scored an impressive 352.90, while
ignoring the pressure from behind, with Powell scoring 332.50
to take silver and bronze went to Tonia Couch (Plymouth) with
319.00.
British divers will compete at the FINA Diving World Cup
in Beijing next month to try to qualify Britain for the 2008
Olympics in August.
In the Women's 10m Synchro Barrow and McCarroll have qualified,
Swain and Robinson-Baker have earned the Men's 3m Synchro
place, and Tandi Gerrard (City of Leeds) and Hayley Sage (City
of Sheffield) will go in the Women's 3m Synchro. Tom Daley
(Plymouth Diving) and Blake Aldridge (Southampton) have qualified
in the men's 10m.
In the individual events Swain and Aldridge have qualified
in the Men's 3m while the Women's 10m will see Graddon and
Powell in action.
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