Olympic Champion Xiong Ni Claims National ChampionshipOlympic diving champion Xiong Ni led all the way to clinch the men's 3-meter springboard title at the Chinese national diving championships in Jinan on Monday, the tournament also served as the domestic trails for the Sydney Olympic Games in the September.The 26-year-old Xiong collected a total winning points of 751. 40 by dominating the competition since the semi-final. His fourth dive in the final gave scored day's highest of 91.80 points. Xiao Hailiang, who survived a minor mistake for his last routine, won the silver medal with a 727.80, outpointing Yu Zhuocheng, Atlanta Olympic runner-up, to the third place in 726. 85. Xiong, who retired in 1997 and resumed training one year ago, had shown his strong comeback on his road to Sydney Olympics with stardom. "I am satisfied with today's high scores. I hope I can reach my peak form in Sydney," Xiong said. According to the Chinese Swimming Association (CSA), top two divers in each event with best results in three out of the five trails could make the Olympic line-ups. With three wins in the four trails, Xiong had already qualified for the Sydney Olympics in the men's springboard, while another qualifier is yet to decided. |
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