Mexican diver denies golden sweep for China in Universiade
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Xinhua, August 22, 2011
Paola Espinosa's victory in the women's 10m platform final denied China a clean sweep of the gold medals in the diving competition at the World University Games.
The Mexican, a veteran Universiade performer with 14 medals in platform and synchronised events dating back to 2005, was one of the stars of the competition, and the 25-year-old said she was thrilled to win the gold in Shenzhen.
"Winning a gold medal is always very special and winning here in China feels better," Espinosa said. "I think my country wanted me to win the gold medal, so I'm really happy that I won."
Outside of Espinosa's success, it was the Chinese divers who dominated the Universiade by winning 11 gold medals to the delight of the majority of the crowd.
Their applause at hearing a Chinese name announced turned into a giant roar when one of their own nailed a dive. China's array of diving depth is the envy of many, and He Zi, winner of the women's 3m springboard and the 3m springboard synchronised event with Wang Han, has been called the second Guo Jingjing, an impressive comparison to China's most successful female diver in Olympic history.
The highlight of the week was the men's 10m platform final, when Wu Jun clinched the gold medal on his last dive in a thrilling battle with Victor Minibaev of Russia.
Sitting in second place going into his last dive, Wu nailed a back three-and-a-half somersault with two-and-a-half twists for a staggering 102.60 points, which included five scores of 9.5 and two of 9.0.
With the crowd on the edge of their seats and Minibaev diving next, the Russian needed the dive of his life.
He attempted the same dive as his Chinese rival, but his respectable score of 86.40 points was just not enough, and he had to settle for the silver medal.
The only perfect scores came in the men's 10m platform sychronised final, when Huo Liang and Lin Yue brought the crowd to their feet on their two final dives. Huo received a 10 for his dive in the fourth round, and the other came on their final dive for synchronisation.
Of the hundreds of dives performed in the entire event, there were only a handful that failed. The most spectacular had to go to Sutian Choi of Macao, China.
On Choi's final dive in the women's 3m springboard final, her foot missed the board on her take-off, and Choi fell off the board sideways and tumbled into the pool.
Barbara Wei, a U.S. table tennis athlete, was watching when it happened and gasped at the dive along with the rest of the audience.
"It was kind of scary but she must have known how not to hurt herself," Wei said.
Now, with less than a year to go before the London 2012 Olympic Games, most athletes will be aiming to participate in the FINA World Cup in London in February as it will be their only chance to test the Olympic facilities.
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