Diving World Cup London 2012, Day 5: China's Minxia Wu and Zi He finish 1-2 in 3m springboard

Chinese Minxia Wu and Zi He did not disappoint on Day 5 of the FINA Visa Diving World Cup in London (GBR), delivering a brilliant performance in the women's 3m springboard and respectively bagging gold and silver. Wu emerged triumphant with a top-ranking score of 368.95 while teammate He, equally outstanding, followed not far behind with a total of 365.40 points.

Already in the semi-final, the Chinese had a firm lock on the top spots, holding at bay any challenger. Pamela Ware's (CAN) score was the closest (327.60). But the gap between the Canadian diver and all other podium contenders was so slight that any of them could easily reach the third spot. Veteran diver Anna Lindberg (SWE) was fourth at this stage and Italian star Tania Cagnotto only ninth. 

In the final, the Italian talent created a surprise after producing two excellent dives at the beginning of her programme and placed second just 0.45 point behind Minxia Wu. The third round was decisive for Cagnotto who performed a 3.5 Forward, Pike which earned her a score of 69.75 (Wu collected 77.50 points for the same combination). Yet, the Italian was good enough to keep her third position close to the leaders and far from the rest of the field.

Before the last round, the name of the three medallists was already clear. Wu was leading with 305.95 points, He followed with 297.90 points and Cagnotto 287.25. At the podium's door however, many were fighting to be the fourth best. Anna Lindberg (SWE) with a score of 269.25 was just 0.05 behind Pamela Ware (CAN). Both divers had the same twist combination in the list and got similar marks. The Canadian eventually bested the Swedish.

(fina)