DALEY TAKES GOLD FROM WATERFIELD IN PLATFORM DUEL
Olympic hopeful Tom Daley showed skill, nerve and real belief
to secure his second gold medal with his final dive of the
British Diving Championships after a thrilling encounter with
Olympic medallist Peter Waterfield.
The championships in Manchester ended with the eagerly awaited
contest between 26-year-old Waterfield and Daley - an athlete
half the former's age at just 13 but with a growing reputation
as he looks towards success at the 2012 Olympics.
Heading into the final, both divers had already collected
a succession of 10s and 9.5s from the judges during the preliminary
and semi-final rounds but it was the determination of Daley,
who gained momentum following a shaky start, that eventually
told.
Daley struggled with his first two dives but then showed
a resilience to go with his obvious talent to drag himself
through the ranks to mount an attack on Waterfield within
the final round.
In contrast, Waterfield looked unstoppable with a succession
of well-executed dives that saw him build a gap between himself
and Daley of over 32 points at the mid-way point.
With the pressure on, Waterfield missed his reverse 3.5,
while Daley managed to get his back 2.5, 1.5 twists spot on
to take the gold with 471.10. Waterfield took the silver with
462.60 and Gareth Jones (Southampton) took the bronze with
425.50.
"After my first two dives I knew I had do something
special to simply get into the top two which was my aim for
this event," said Daley.
"I was hoping to get closer to Pete but I didn't think,
given my start, I could go above him. It was one of my best
ever dives and it came at exactly the right time. It just
proves that anything can happen in diving and you have to
keep that belief.
"It wasn't a best performance for me but it ranks right
up there. I'm really happy with how the championships have
gone, I've have two senior titles and a junior title so it's
been a big success."
The Women's 3m event went all the way to the final dive with
four athletes all in contention for top honours going into
the last round.
But it was the recovery of Jodie McGroarty (City of Sheffield)
on her final dive, when under great pressure, that ultimately
delivered gold and the British title for 2008.
McGroarty, who had qualified first for the final, left it
until her last routine to take the prize when victory seemed
to be going to eventual silver medalist Louise Van Hoof (Southampton).
In a close finish for all three medals, Rebecca Gallantree
(City of Leeds) took bronze with 287.30, Van Hoof put herself
just clear for the silver with 289.50 before McGroarty took
the lead for the first time and posted a score of 290.60.
"I'm delighted to have won," said McGroarty. "You
go through all of the training for just five dives but they
mean absolutely everything to me.
"I tried not to imagine winning while I was diving but
I believed that if I dived well and enjoyed it then I could
be there at the end."
McGroarty has struggled to get a rhythm going within her
training schedule over the past 12months but feels she can
now put that behind her.
"I've struggled a lot with injury this last year so
I've concentrated on my current dive list without looking
to enhance it while building my strength back up," said
McGroarty.
"I'm relieved but ecstatic to make it to the World Cup
in Beijing and this eases the pressure slightly. It's not
over yet though, the big meet is still to come when we'll
be looking to qualify Britain for the Olympics."
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. In the Women's 3m McGroarty and Van Hoof
have been selected and the Men's 10m will see Daley and Waterfield
competing.
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