China Takes Ninth Diving Gold

China Takes Ninth Diving Gold

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Li Rongjuan and Yang Lan took the women's synchronized 3m springboard crown Wednesday to bring China their ninth diving title in as many events at the World University Games.

They clinched the victory with a pair of extraordinary final dives and amassed 296.70 points from the five rounds of dives in the final.

Ukrainian pair Ganna Sorokina and Olena Zhupina and German duo Ditte Kotzian and Conny Schmalfuss shared a tied second on 278.04 points, holding off Russians Tatiana Makeeva and Olga Klokova for a fourth.

The contest was full of suspense as the top three pairs were within six points of each other throughout the first four rounds. Although the Chinese duet had kept their lead during the first four rounds, the margin between them and the Ukrainian pair was tiny - 0.6 points after the second round and 2.28 points after the fourth round.

Everything hinged on the last pair of dives. The Chinese pair displayed the stronger nerve and produced a pair of brilliant reverse two and a half somersaults in tuck, which garnered 74.70 points, the highest score in the final, much more than the Ukrainians' 58.32 in the final round, and pushed them 18.66 points ahead of their rivals. Diving as a pair, Li and Yang look like mirror images of each other - they have similar builds; both wore dark swimsuits with a Chinese national flag and the word "China" emblazoned on the chest, both had their hair tied back in ponytails - and they dived in almost perfect unison.

The Ukrainian duo, bronze medalists at the Sydney Olympics, was less than five points ahead of the German pair all through the first four rounds. But the German duo, who took bronze at the Fukuoka world championships last month, outplayed them in the final round, sealing a tied second.

This is the first gold medal for both Li and Yang at the Universiade. Li clinched two silvers in the 1m and 3m springboard behind teammate Guo Jingjing. Yang, who came third in the 3m springboard and fourth in the 1m springboard preliminaries, failed to make the semifinals because a maximum of two divers from one country were allowed into the next round.