KEJURNAS LONCAT INDAH 2013: Jateng borong dua emas

Semarang (LONCAT INDAH - Peloncat indah asal Jawa Tengah Dewi Setyaningsih memborong dua medali emas pada kejuaraan nasional loncat indah yang berakhir Rabu di Jakarta.

Ketua Komisi Teknik Loncat Indah Pengprov PRSI Jawa Tengah Maryono ketika dihubungi dari Semarang, Rabu, mengatakan, medali emas terakhir yang diraih Dewi Setyaningsih berasal dari nomor papan tiga meter.

Pada nomor ini, lanjut dia, Dewi yang tengah dipersiapkan tampil pada SEA Games 2013 Myanmar tersebut menjadi yang terbaik dengan nilai 368,35, sedangkan medali perak direbut rekan sesama Pelatnas asal DKI Jakarta Lina Dini Yasmin dengan nilai 340,80, dan perunggu direbut Nursela (Sumsel) dengan nilai 268,80.

Sebelumnya, Dewi juga meraih medali emas dari papan satu meter dengan nilai 335,15,  medali perak direbut atlet DKI Jakarta Lina Dini Yasmin dengan nilai 332,55, sedangkan perak direbut atlet Sumatera Selatan Siti Nursela dengan nilai 327,05.

Dewi juga meraih medali perak dari papan menara 10 meter dengan nilai 290,65, sedangkan emas direbut Lina Dini Yasmin dengan nilai 357,01 perunggu direbut Tissa Nadia dari Jawa Barat dengan nilai 211,55.

Dengan berakhirnya Kejurnas loncat indah ini secara keseluruhan Jawa Tengah meraih dua medali emas dan satu medali perak. "Kita memang menurunkan enam atlet termasuk Dewi Setyaningsih tetapi yang lainnya belum bisa meraih prestasi," katanya.

Pada kejurnas loncat indah di Jakarta ini mempertandingkan nomor papan satu meter, papan tiga meter, menara 7,5 meter, dan menara 10 meter putra-putri. (ANTARA News) 

KEJURNAS LONCAT INDAH 2013: Dwi Setyaningsih Berjaya Rebut Emas Pertama

JAKARTA (LONCAT INDAH): Atlet Pelatnas loncat indah Dwi Setyaningsih berhasil merebut medali emas pertama pada kejuaraan nasional loncat indah yang berlangsung di kolam renang Gelora Bung Karno Senayan, Jakarta, Senin (18/11). Bagi atlet pelatnas, ajang ini boleh dibilang try in terakhir sebelum bertolak ke SEA Games Myanmar pada 5 Desember mendatang.

"Pada hari pertama pelaksanaan kejurnas loncat indah, Dewi berhasil meraih medali emas untuk nomor papan 1 meter," kata Ketua Komisi Loncat Indah Pengprov PRSI Jawa Tengah Maryono ketika dihubungi di Jakarta, kemarin.

Atlet asal Jawa Tengah ini meraih medali emas dengan nilai 335,15 sedangkan medali perak direbut atlet DKI Jakarta Lina Dini Yasmin dengan nilai 332,55, dan perunggu direbut oleh atlet Sumatera Selatan Siti Nursela dengan nilai 327,05.

Maryono mengatakan, Dewi masih berpeluang untuk menambah medali emas pada kejurnas yang berlangsung hingga Rabu (20/11) tersebut, karena yang bersangkutan masih akan turun pada dua nomor lagi yaitu papan 3 meter dan menara 10 meter.

Menurut dia, pesaing berat Dwi akan datang dari sesama atlet pelatnas yang dipersiapkan tampil pada SEA Games 2013 Myanmar, seperti Sari Ambarwati, Lina Dini Yasmin, dan Eka Purnama Endah.

Bagi atlet pelatnas, termasuk Dewi Setyaningsih, kejurnas di Jakarta tersebut hanya sebagai ajang pemantapan sebelum mereka tampil pada pesta olahraga multievent antarnegara Asia Tenggara di Myanmar mendatang.

Dijelaskan, tim loncat indah yang diterjunkan pada SEA Games di Myanmar mendatang sudah terbentuk sehingga penampilan mereka pada kejurnas mendatang sebagai ajang pemantapan saja.

Tim loncat indah Indonesia yang diturunkan pada SEA Games 2013 di Myanmar mendatang berjumlah enam orang. Mereka adalah Dewi Setyaningsih (Jateng), Andrian (DKI Jakarta), Sari Ambarwati (DKI Jakarta), Aditya Restu Putra (DKI Jakarta), Lina Dini Yasmin (DKI Jakarta), dan Eka Purnama Endah (Kalimantan Selatan).

Pada SEA Games mendatang Dewi bakal turun pada dua nomor yaitu menara 10 meter dan papan 3 meter. "Keikutsertaan Dewi pada nomor menara ini terbilang baru karena sebelumnya yang bersangkutan memiliki spesialisasi pada nomor papan (1 meter dan 3 meter)," katanya seperti dikutip Antara. (Suara Karya) 

FINA World Championships 2013: Zi He denies Cagnotto in close 1m duel

LONCAT INDAH INDONESIA-Zi He, an Olympic gold medallist last year, reclaimed the women's world 1m springboard  title in a desperately close duel with European champion Tania Cagnotto, overtaking the Italian on the last dive of the final to win by just one-tenth of a point, the smallest margin in any diving event in the history of the World Championships. Cagnotto, who led through three of the five rounds of dives, could not have come closer in her bid to scoop Italy's first World Championship diving gold in 38 years since Klaus Dibiasi won the men's 10m title at the first two editions in 1973 and 1975.

Cagnotto, silver medallist in the 3m synchro springboard at these championships, was poised tantalisingly close to gold, having led at the end of the penultimate round by five points, but saw it snatched away by He, who unfurled the highest score of the final with a reverse 1-1/2 somersaults and 1-1/2 twists which earned her 66.30 points.That sealed China's fourth title out of five thus far contested in Barcelona, He winning with 307.10 points, with Cagnotto having to settle for silver on 307.00 and He's Chinese team-mate Han Wang, who collected the bronze in 2009 and silver in 2011, taking bronze on 297.75.

FINA World Championships 2013: Qin and He triumph in 3m synchro final

LONCAT INDAH INDONESIA-Double Olympic champion Kai Qin clinched an unprecedented fourth successive men's 3m synchro springboard gold, triumphing with new partner Chong He, himself a former winner of the event, and maintaining China's winning ways at the FINA World Championships.The victory was China's fifth in six diving finals so far contested in the Montjuic Municipal Pool and the second of the day, following Zi He's narrow win over Italy's Tania Cagnotto in the women's 1m springboard final. Qin and He led throughout to amass 448.86 points and win by 20.85 points but it was not an entirely straightforward victory on a day when none of the pairs was immune from error.

Russia's Evgeny Kuznetsov and Ilia Zakharov, silver medallists behind Qin and Yutong Luo at the 2011 Worlds and 2012 Olympics, had to settle for silver again (428.01), while Mexicans Jahir Ocampo and Rommel Pacheco proved steadier than some of their more fancied rivals to take bronze (422,79). Zakharov, who beat Qin and He for the 3m individual gold at the 2012 Olympics, and Kuznetsov were seeking to emulate fellow countrymen Alexander Dobroskok and Dmitry Sautin, the only non-Chinese duo to win the event when they prevailed in 2003. But they could not prevent the Chinese from making it seven wins in eight editions of the World Championships.

FINA Open Water World Championships, Day 4: Zi He denies Cagnotto in close 1m duel

LONCAT INDAH INDONESIA-Zi He, an Olympic gold medallist last year, reclaimed the women's world 1m springboard  title in a desperately close duel with European champion Tania Cagnotto, overtaking the Italian on the last dive of the final to win by just one-tenth of a point, the smallest margin in any diving event in the history of the World Championships. Cagnotto, who led through three of the five rounds of dives, could not have come closer in her bid to scoop Italy's first World Championship diving gold in 38 years since Klaus Dibiasi won the men's 10m title at the first two editions in 1973 and 1975.

Cagnotto, silver medallist in the 3m synchro springboard at these championships, was poised tantalisingly close to gold, having led at the end of the penultimate round by five points, but saw it snatched away by He, who unfurled the highest score of the final with a reverse 1-1/2 somersaults and 1-1/2 twists which earned her 66.30 points.That sealed China's fourth title out of five thus far contested in Barcelona, He winning with 307.10 points, with Cagnotto having to settle for silver on 307.00 and He's Chinese team-mate Han Wang, who collected the bronze in 2009 and silver in 2011, taking bronze on 297.75.

He partnered Minxia Wu to gold in the 3m synchro at the 2012 London Olympics, where she also took silver in the individal event, repeating the tally she achieved at the 2011 Worlds in Shanghai. He, the top qualifier from the preliminary round, seized the lead in the first round of the final ahead of Cagnotto and Wang but the 28-year-old Italian, the oldest finalist, overtook her in the second, as Wang dropped to seventh. Cagnotto stayed in front in the third round, with He inching closer and Wang back in the top three but nearly 12 points behind the leader. Cagnotto slightly increased her advantage but there was no change in the order in the fourth round, by which time the destination of the medals looked almost sure to be settled between the top trio, Canada's then fourth-placed Pamela Ware having fallen off the pace.

It was the fifth Chinese victory in the event at the World Championships since the illustrious Min Gao won the first edition in 1991. Cagnotto went into the final having been four times a bronze medallist - three times in the 3m individual event and once, at the last Worlds in 2011, on the 1m board- as well as Silver medallist in the 3m synchro in 2009 and here in 2013. But gold, so near, was to elude her once more.

Gold Medal: Zi He (CHN)

“I was a bit surprised with the victory, but I am obviously very happy. Wang and I performed very consistently and the outcome was highly positive. Before the last dive, I was really nervous because the notes were very close. I managed to remain concentrated and I got the gold”.

On this being the tightest difference in the history of World Championships between the gold and silver medallist: “I couldn’t imagine! Knowing that, I even give more value to my gold medal!”

Silver Medal: Tania Cagnotto (ITA)

“I am really satisfied with this silver, taking into account my last year. After the London Olympics, I took a break, and I came here not so well prepared as in previous major competitions. I have already two silver medals, so I am thrilled! Moreover, it was the first time I got so close from the Chinese- this is a good sign, I am getting closer to them…”

“I got nervous going to the last dive, as I had a real opportunity of getting my first world title. I finally remained calm, but the dive was not perfect”.

On the tight finish: “It’s a kind of experience for me… In London, I lost the bronze medal by 0.20, here I lose the gold by 0.10… At the Games, I was really disappointed, here I am happy. Diving results shouldn’t be so close, because sometimes it hurts…”

“I know that perhaps I won’t have many future opportunities to get the gold, and it’s a bit pity that I lost this chance, but considering my preparation in these last months, it’s even better than what I expected”.  

Bronze Medal: Han Wang (CHN)

“I worked very much for this result and the effort paid off. The conditions were a bit difficult – wind and heat – but the divers are able to overcome all challenges”.

FINA World Championships 2013: Li retains world 1m springboard title

LONCAT INDAH INDONESIA-Shixin Li became the first man to retain the world 1m springboard crown, stretching China's hold on the event and bringing the leading diving nation its second World Championship title in three days. But China, who had claimed gold and silver in the 1m event for the last three World Championships, were denied a second medal as European champion Illya Kvasha of Ukraine and Alejandro Chavez of Mexico claimed silver and bronze.

Li trailed for the first four rounds of the six-round final but was always in contention, finally seizing the lead in the fifth round with an excellent inward 2.5 somersaults.

FINA World Championships 2013: Fourth world 10m synchro gold for Chen

LONCAT INDAH INDONESIA-Olympic champion Ruolin Chen swooped to her fourth successive world 10m synchro gold medal when she partnered Huixia Liu to victory to bring China their third diving title in the first three days of the FINA World Championships.Chen, twice double Olympic champion in 10m individual and synchro, was diving at the Worlds with her fourth different partner but the result was the same as it had been at the last three editions of the championships: top spot on the podium by a big margin.

Diving against the stunning backdrop of Gaudi's Sagrada Familia basilica, with the city of Barcelona spread beneath, Chen and Liu flew high in a class of their own, soaring to gold with 356.28 points from their five final dives.Experience counted as Canada's Meaghan Benfeito and Roseline Filion, bronze medallists at the 2005 Worlds and the 2012 Olympics, took the silver(331.41) and Malaysia's Pandelela Rinong Pamg and Mun Yee Leong, world bronze medallists in 2009, bronze again (331.14).

FINA World Championships Barcelona 2013: Germany snatches the men´s 10 m synchronised title from China

LONCAT INDAH INDONESIA-Sasha Klein and Patrick Hausding have ended China´s seven year reign in the diving competition today at 15th FINA World Championships. The Russian partnership made up of Victor Minibaev and Artem Chesakov went up to second place after a tough fight with the Mexican pair

Excitement until the last round of dives is the only way to describe what happened today at the Municipal Swimming Pools in Montjuïc. Yuan Cao and Yanquan Zhang had come to ratify the title they had owned since Melbourne 2007, but the German partnership was not prepared to give up the possibility of getting gold and the Russians were going to give their all until the end. There was not just a fight for the first two places but also for third and fourth place. The Chinese and the Aztec pair consisting of Germán Sánchez e Iván García fought until the last round for the chance to get on the podium.

The German partnership reached the highest place on the podium with 461.46 points. It seems that the city of Barcelona does not bring much luck to the Chinese team as they repeated the third position that they also had to be happy with in Barcelona 2003. Going over the final scores shows the potency of Minibaev and Chesakov to climb the positions in the qualification and finish with 445.95 points. Cao and Zhang were only 0.39 tenths apart and finished with 445.56.

“We can´t believe that the dream has come true. We are really happy, and we don´t know what to say. The dream has come true. We have the positive feeling, and positive motivation for the next competitions”, have declared both German divers after his sensational performance.

Klein and Hausding achieved the best score in the last round and the judges gave them a score of 96.12 for execution for their backwards dive with two and a half somersaults and two and a half twists entering the water head first. The Chinese pair executed the same exercise in the last round and were awarded 99.36 but it was not enough to reach the Russian duo in second place despite the fact that in the same round and with the same dive they had got 88.56 points.

The duel from the 10 metre platform will be repeated on an individual level in the preliminaries and semifinals on the 27th July with the big final taking place on 28th July.

Tomorrow the Montjuïc Municipal Swimming Pools will open its doors again to spectators for the preliminary round of the women´s 10 m synchronised (10.00 am – 12.45 pm) and two finals: men´s 1 m springboard (2.00 pm – 3.25 pm) and women´s 10 m synchronized (5.30 pm – 6.50 pm).

Facts & Features:

Germany's Sascha Klein and Patrick Hausding won the gold medal in the Men's 10m Platform Synchro event, providing a stunning start to the men's diving competition at the 2013 Aquatics World Championships. China, which had won all 10 events in Shanghai two years ago, will not provide another clean sweep.

Germany won their first gold medal in Diving events at the World Championships. Since Germany's reunification, their divers had won silver medals but until today never a gold.

China's divers came third in this event. It was only the second time in the history of the Aquatics World Championships that no Chinese pairing made it into the top two of one of the Synchro events. In this very event in 2003, also in Barcelona, Australia took gold and Ukraine collected silver, as China were made to settle for bronze.

China have dominated this event in World Championships history, winning a medal in all seven previous World Championship editions in which this event was held, collecting five gold, one silver and one bronze medal.

FINA World Championship 2013: China’s Wu Minxia makes history in first Diving final of Barcelona 2013

LONCAT INDAH INDONESIA-Under the eyes of many fans at the Montjuïc Municipal Pool, main competition of the 15th FINA World Championships Barcelona 2013, Wu Minxia claimed the first diving gold medal in the 3m springboard synchro today. The Chinese star has only missed out on winning the event in 2005, at the World Champs in Montreal, where she did not compete

In the preliminary round (morning session), Wu Minxia and Shi Tingamo took the lead with 334.20 points. The Italian duet formed by Tania Cagnotto and Francesca Dallape finished second ahead of Canada’s up-and-coming stars Jennifer Abel and Pamela Ware.

In the evening, China and Italy showed brilliant performances keeping the crowd well entertained at the Montjuïc Municipal Pool.

In the end, China kept the lead with 338.40 points, followed on the first diving podium by Italy (307.80) and Canada (292.08).

With the triumph, Wu Minxia has added another gold medal to her impressive career, earning the sixth gold medal in the same event at the World Championships (fourth consecutive title). “I am very happy to win another gold medal with my third partner,” she said. “We have worked very hard and communicated very well.”

Discover the high divers to compete at Barcelona 2013

14 men and five women are gearing up for the first-ever high diving competition to be held at a World Championships from July 29-31, 2013 at the Moll de la Fusta in Barcelona (ESP).

MEN: Orlando Duque (COL), Michal Navratil (CZE), Cyrille Oumedjkane (FRA), Hassan Mouti (FRA), Gary Hunt (GBR), Matthew Cowan (GBR), Blake Aldridge (GBR), Jorge Ferzuli (MEX), Jonathan Paredes (MEX), Artem Silchenko (RUS), Anatoliy Shabotenko (UKR), David Colturi (USA), Kent Demond (USA) and Steve Lobue (USA).

WOMEN: Stephanie De Lima (CAN), Anna Bader (GER), Cesilie Carlton (USA), Ginger Huber (USA) and Tara Hyer (USA).

mexican divers, big winners in guadalajara

The host squad completed a historic hat-trick at the penultimate stop of the FINA/Midea Diving World Series 2013 in Guadalajara from May 17-19, earning 3 titles in men's events - Yahel Castillo won the 3m springboard individual and synchro with Daniel Islas, Ivan Garcia and German Sanchez took out the 10m platform synchro. Mexico climbed the podium in six out of eight events, tallying a total seven medals: 3 gold, 2 silver and 2 bronze.

The Chinese delegation swept the women's events and Qiu Bo finished on top of the men's 10m platform, confirming a successful return to international competition. Other countries to climb the podium in Guadalajara were Canada, Cuba, Great Britain, Malaysia and Russia.

The world's best divers will be in action at the last stop of the World Series season 2013 in Guadalajara (MEX) from May 24-26

DIVING WORLD SERIES DWS 2013, Edinburgh day 3: Home hero Tom Daley captures gold in 10m platform

Edinburgh, GREAT BRITAIN – LONCAT INDAH INDONESIA - 18-year old Thomas Daley (GBR), the pride of a whole nation, delivered a magnificent performance, snatching the men's 10m platform title on the final day of the FINA/Midea Diving World Series held in Edinburgh (GBR) at the Royal Commonwealth Pool from April 19-21.

In the women's field, young Chinese diving prospects Yajie Sie and Huixia Liu finished 1-2 in the 10m platform, maintaining the golden standard of the sport's traditional powerhouse nation.

With multiple Olympic and World champion Ruolin Chen absent in Edinburgh, the battle for top honours would play out between Si and Liu, who had taken gold in the synchro same event on day 1.

If Liu bested teammate Si in the semi-final round, the latter was too strong in the final, exhibiting her prowess and comfortably winning the competition with a powerful 405.60 points. Si's Back 3.5 Somersault, Tucked (3.3 DD) was the highest-scoring dive of the final, at 89.10. Liu picked up silver with a total 374.40 points.

Mexico's Alejandra Orozco, 2012 Olympic silver medallist in the 10m platform synchro, bounced back from day one's slump where she finished last with partner Carolina Mendoza to win bronze with a total score of 367.45.

With a consistent performance in all five rounds, local favourite Tonia Couch was the fourth best, totalling 350.45 points. Russian Yulia Koltunova, bronze medallist on day 1, placed fifth while 2012 Olympic bronze medallist Pandelela Rinong Pamg from Malaysia closed the ranking.

For the last and most popular event on the diving programme, the men's 10m platform, the crowd's biggest reception was reserved for home hero Thomas Daley, who proved himself tremendous in the final, amassing a total 542.15 points. The 2012 Olympic bronze medallist and 2012 World Series winner in the event was the only diver of the entire meet to receive perfect 10s for two of his dives, a Back 3.5 Somersault, Piked and a Reverse 3.5 Somersault, Tucked.

Following the event, Daley said: "Going into the final, there was quite a lot of pressure because it's a home crowd and I had to step up my mark and make sure that I got a medal. This gold gives me a boost going to training now because I've got to use that experience I've had there for the Barcelona World Championships."

Russian Victor Minibaev, who combined with Artem Chesakov to win the 10m platform synchro on day 1, finished strongly with 537.60 points, receiving marks of mostly 8.5 and 9.5 in five of his dives. The bronze went to Mexico's Ivan Garcia with a final score of 504.50.

"I felt very good during the final, I was happy with my dives but I hope to perform even better in the Mexican legs of the Series and look forward to competing at home," Garcia said with a smile.

Anton Zakharov from Ukraine finished fourth with a total 484.25 points.

DIVING WORLD SERIES DWS 2013, Dubai day 3: China finish with a gold rush

Dubai, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES – LONCAT INDAH INDONESIA - China returned to the top of the podium tonight to take out the final two events on the competition programme at this year’s FINA/Midea Diving World Series Dubai. After the shock result last night when China was beaten into third in the men’s 3m springboard finals, China reasserted themselves as the world leaders with commanding performances in both  the men’s and women’s 10m platform finals.

In the women’s final, the dual world and Olympic champion Chen Ruolin continued her spectacular form, taking her second gold of the meet to go with the 10m synchro gold she won with partner Liu Huixia on Thursday. As is customary for her, Roulin took the lead with her first dive and produced another consistent display to finish the competition with 403.85, 21.95 points clear of second placed Meaghan Benfeito (CAN).

Benfeito achieved the consistency she had been aiming for with every dive scoring in the 70s, finishing with 381.90, taking her second silver for the competition after finishing in the same position with partner Roseline Filion in the 10m synchro. 

Benfeito was delighted with the result, saying: “I am feeling more confident, after the qualifying I re-set myself and just focussed on the corrections my coach suggested. My goal now is to get 400 points, if I do that I should be able to win. I have had a great time here, I love it here in Dubai and this pool is amazing”.

It was a tight tussle for the bronze with Brittany Broben of Australia sitting in third position until a superb 407C inward 2 ½ somersault tuck from Russia’s Yulia Koltunova in Round 4 which topscored for the competition, pushed Broben into fourth. Broben produced the best dive of the round in the final round, finishing with 369.80, but fell short of a medal by 1.75 points, with Koltunova finishing with 371.05. Like Ruolin and Benfeito, Koltunova’s bronze was also her second after placing third in the 10m synchro.

Malaysia’s Pandelela Pamg finished fifth with 353.50, and Canada’s Roseline Filion finished sixth with 289.15.

The men’s final was a breathtaking display of world class diving which delighted the crowds. China’s Aisen Chen took the early lead, with a brilliant 102.60 for his first dive, a 6245D back armstand double with 2 ½ twists to take a 19.40 point lead, which he then extended with his second dive which earned him three tens for a total of 95.70.

A perfect scoring dive from Chen’s team mate Lin Yue in round 3 wowed the appreciative audience and earned him 108.00 for his 207B 3 ½ back somersault pike. This pushed Lin to within 5 points of Chen. Lin continued to apply the pressure, taking the lead in the fourth round and despite a near perfect dive from Chen in the final round which scored him 108.00, he could not catch Lin, and finished on 571.50 to Lin’s 586.90.

A delighted Lin Yue said later: “I am satisfied with my results here (two golds) but there is still some room for improvement. I want to do better, especially in Barcelona (2013 FINA World Championships in July)”.

The race for the minor medals saw some spectacular performances with Ivan Garcia of Mexico  topscoring in round two to move into third place. However he faltered badly on his next dive, scoring only 34.85 which put him out of contention for a medal, finishing fifth with 451.15. 

Victor Minibaev of Russia started strongly and was in second position going into round three but the brilliant dive of Lin Yue pushed him into third. Consistent diving saw him hold on for the bronze with 538.05. Minibaev said later: “I have to work harder and train harder to beat the Chinese, but I have really enjoyed it here in Dubai”. 

Artem Chesakov of Russia started slowly and despite his top scoring dive in round five he could not catch Minibaev and finished in fourth with 495.25.

The FINA/Midea Diving World Series continues in Edinburgh (GBR) on April 19-21, then moves to Moscow (RUS), then Guadalajara, Mexico before the final leg in Mexico City on May 24-26.

DIVING WORLD SERIES 2013: Dubai day 2: China loses gold in the men's 3m springboard

Dubai, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES – LONCAT INDAH INDONESIA - China suffered a rare defeat tonight in the finals of the men’s 3m springboard, with Illya Kvasha of Ukraine taking the gold, and Javier Garcia Illana the silver in an upset defeat of reigning world champion He Chong.

Chong predictably took the lead with his first dive, but uncharacteristically faltered on his second to drop to third. Kvasha top scored for the competition on his second dive with 96.90, stamping his authority on the event and never letting go. A solid 91.00 for his third dive put He Chong back into second and by the fourth round he was only 6.80 points behind Kvasha, but the Ukrainian had a superb night, keeping his nerves under control and putting together a consistent performance to retain the lead and cause the upset of the competition, finishing with 493.40.

Kvasha, clearly delighted with his performance, said later: “Each dive wasn’t perfect tonight, but they were good and Chong made more mistakes than me. We should remember the Chinese are human not machines and they can be beaten. I didn’t think about beating him, just about making each dive and it worked

Chong struggled to display the level of perfection usually associated with Chinese divers and after finishing the fifth round in second dropped to third on his last dive, finishing with 466.35, just 1.85 points behind Javier Illana Garcia of Spain. Chong said: “I haven’t been working on my single diving enough, I have spent a lot of time on synchro and I need to work more on individual dives and have competition practice”.

Illana Garcia was elated with his medal, saying: “This is my first medal and my first silver in my international career, I always make finals but never win medals so this is great. I aimed for consistency tonight, and it worked”. This medal is going to my family, they always support me,” he added.

After qualifying just behind He Chong in this morning’s semi final Patrick Hausding of Germany was expected to perform well but also suffered with inconsistency, finishing in fourth with 449.10. Troy Dumais of the USA also looked threatening early on but also slipped back to fifth with 427.95, ahead of Christopher Mears (GBR) who finished with 423.30.

Earlier in the evening the script for the Chinese team ran to plan with 2012 Olympic Silver medallist He Zi taking out the women’s 3m springboard final in commanding fashion.

He Zi was a picture of the customary Chinese perfection on every dive, scoring in the 70s on each dive except for her fourth where she top scored for the competition with 83.70, giving her a total of 391.20.  Jennifer Abel of Canada started well, but faltered slightly on her third dive to drop back to 5th. She had a medal firmly in her sights though and put together two more solid dives to take silver by 4.8 with 309.30 ahead of Olena Fedorova of Ukraine who finished with 304.50

Abel was thrilled to take silver to go with the bronze she won yesterday in the 3m synchro event, and was particularly pleased with her fourth dive which put her back in contention for a medal. 

After not medalling in Dubai in 2012 Abel said: “Last year was an Olympic year and the pressure was on to pre-qualify and I got nervous. This year I’m much more relaxed, I’ve changed some of my techniques and I’m doing better”.

Fedorova was in second position until a 58.50 on her final dive cost her the silver. After just missing a medal in the synchro last night by only .9, Fedorova said the difference for her tonight was: “I was angry, so I concentrated more. But this means more to me because it is an individual medal.” Laura Sanchez of Mexico started well sitting in second place in rounds two and three but missed the bronze by 2.70 points.

Hannah Starling of Great Britain was appearing in her first World Series final and by the third round had climbed to third but could not hang on and finished fifth with 282.45, ahead of Jaele Patrick of Australia, who finished with 280.95.

After a thrilling night of exciting competition the large crowd was also treated to a visit by football legend Maradona who presented the medals for the men’s final. 

The action continues tomorrow at the Hamdan Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Sports Complex, with the final day of competition featuring the 10m platform semi finals from 10-12noon, followed by the finals from 5-7pm. The Jerobeam Diving clowns will also be performing again at 4.15pm. (fina)

Dubai day 1: China starts with golden display

Dubai, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES - LONCAT INDAH INDONESIA,- The seemingly invincible Chinese diving team kicked off their FINA/Midea Diving World Series Dubai 2013 campaign this morning in their usual manner, taking the first two gold medals on offer in convincing fashion.

The first session on the competition program provided a breathtaking display of world class diving, much to the delight of several hundred schoolchildren who came to the Hamdan Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Sports Complex to see multiple world and Olympic champions in action.

The first event on the programme was the women’s 10m synchro platform final and the Chinese team of Chen Ruolin and Liu Huixia were hot favourites. Even though they are a new pairing they took gold in the first round of the FINA/Midea Diving World Series in Beijing last weekend, establishing themselves as the team to beat. They did not disappoint, taking the lead with their first dive and never letting it slip, finishing with 353.04, their last two dives both scoring 83.52.

The pair have only been diving together for two months, and Chen Roulin later said: “We are feeling better together now, as we get to know each other better. We are learning to understand each other more”.

Their biggest threat was from Canada’s diminutive duo of Meaghan Benfeito and Roseline Filion, who performed solidly, eventually finishing with the silver medal, with 331.44, 21.60 points behind the Chinese. The Canadians were very happy with their performance, Benfeito saying: “This was a stronger performance than in Beijing, there our dives were shakier individually and here we were much better synchronised”. “We had three months off after the Olympics so we’re happy with this”.

The pair, who took bronze in London, are aiming for the 2016 Olympics in Rio. Filion said: “With a lot of hard work and training we can take the gold”.

After a slow start sitting in fifth place for the first two dives the Russian team of Yulia Koltunova and Natalia Goncharova put in three dives scoring in the 70s to finish with the bronze with 315.36.

Malaysia’s Pandelela Pamg Rinong and partner Mun Yee Leong finished in fourth with 307.26 after sitting in third for the first three rounds. Rebecca Gallantree and Jenny Cowen from Great Britain finished in fifth with 288.42, ahead of Mexico’s Alejandra Orozco and Carolina Mendoza who couldn’t match their fourth place performance in Beijing and finished sixth with 281.28.

The second event of the morning was the men’s 10m synchro platform and again the Chinese dominated from the outset. Lin Yue and Chen Aisen have only been diving together for one month and were not as happy with this performance as they were with their Beijing result. “We did better in Beijing, we had a few mistakes in synchro today and need to train together more” said Lin Yue. 

Their second dive (401B, Inward dive pike) scored the first tens of the competition from both of the execution judges. Their top scoring dive of the day was 99.90 for a 109C (Forward 4 1/2 tuck), which gave them an unassailable lead and saw them finish with 490.95, 46.83 points ahead of the Russian team of Victor Minibaev and Artem Chesakov.

While finishing with a higher total pointscore here, the Russians were happier with their performance in Beijing.

“This is a new partnership and we are still getting comfortable with each other” said Minibaev, “we still need to put more work in”.

The Cuban pair of Jose Antonio Guerra and Jeinkler Aguirre finished with 417.39, 20.22 points more than in Beijing, a result that pushed them into the bronze medal position ahead of Ivan Garcia and Adan Zuniga of Mexico, who finished with 407.16

“We are delighted to see these amazing divers competing again in Dubai” said Ahmed Al Falasi, President of the UAE Swimming Federation. “It is exciting to see world class diving again, and we look forward to enjoying the competition over the next two and a half days” he added. (fina)

Loncat Indah Try-out di Barcelona

JAKARTA – LONCAT INDAH INDONESIA - Pemusatan latihan nasional (pelatnas) loncat indah akan mengikuti tiga turnamen uji coba di luar negeri guna persiapan sebelum menghadapi SEA Games XXVII Myanmar, Desember.

"Yang paling utama memang untuk semua tim akan try out di Barcelona, di bulan Juli yaitu Kejuaraan Akuatik Dunia," kata pelatih nasional loncat indah Harly Ramayani di Jakarta, Rabu (27/2).

Uji coba lainnya adalah kejuaraan kelompok umur di Malaysia pada April dan kemudian uji coba di Asian Youth Games yang akan dilangsungkan pada 16-24 Agustus di Nanjing, China.

Menurut Harly, Indonesia sudah sewajarnya ambil bagian di Kejuaraan Akuatik Dunia mengingat saingan terdekat tim Merah Putih di Asia Tenggara, Malaysia sudah kerap ikut serta dalam turnamen yang digelar Federasi Renang Internasional (FINA) tersebut.

Ia juga mengatakan kejuaraan loncat indah di kawasan Asia frekuensinya masih cukup rendah, oleh karena itu ambil bagian di Kejuaraan Akuatik Dunia yang akan berlangsung pada 19 Juli-4 Agustus2013 tersebut menjadi salah satu prioritas dengan target menaikkan peringkat serta mengukur kekuatan sesama negara Asia Tenggara.

Atlet loncat indah Indonesia pada Kejuaraan Atletik Dunia 2011 di Shanghai ambil bagian di enam nomor yaitu papan satu meter individual putra, menara individual putra, papan tiga meter berpasangan putra, menara berpasangan putra, papan satu meter individual putri dan papan tiga meter individual putri.

Prestasi terbaik atlet Indonesia di Kejuaraan Atletik Dunia 2011 adalah menempati peringkat ke-17 di babak penyisihan nomor menara berpasangan putra melalui Muhammad Nasrullah dan Husaini Noor.

Sementara itu di babak penyisihan nomor papan tiga meter putra, pasangan Andriyan dan Luthfi Niko Abdillah hanya menduduki peringkat ke-18.

Kemudian di nomor menara individual putra, papan satu meter individual putri, papan satu meter individual putra dan papan tiga meter individual putri masing-masing menempati peringkat 30, 35, 38 serta 39.

Meski demikian, Harly menyebutkan setidaknya ada dua uji coba yang akan diikuti atlet pelatnas loncat indah di kawasan Asia walaupun hanya terbatas untuk para atlet junior.

DWS 2013, Beijing day 3: Chen (CHN) untouchable in 10m platform, China captures 8 golds on offer

Chen 10 m

Beijing, CHINA – LONCAT INDAH INDONESIA - Four-time Olympic champion Ruolin Chen won the women's 10m platform in convincing fashion, leading with more than 40 points ahead of her rivals, sealing China's complete golden sweep on day 3 of the FINA/Midea Diving World Series at Beijing's Water Cube on March 17, 2013.

Chen, who claimed the 10m platform title at both the Beijing and London Olympic Games, dominated the final to win the gold with 403.75 points. Canadian Meaghan Benfeito came second with 362.25 points while Malaysia's Pandelela Rinong Pamg took third with 337.75 points.

"I am satisfied with my performance today. It's my first major competition after the London Games and I wanted to do my best in each dive. I was not confident before the event because I did not train much these days," Chen said.

"I know it is hard to beat the Chinese divers, because they are very strong and their dives are beautiful. I tried my best today, I am happy with the silver," Benfeito said.

Chinese Yue Lin tasted his first individual victory at international level since 2008 as he and Aisen Chen finished 1-2 in the men's 10m platform.

Lin, 2008 Olympic champion in the synchro platform, scored 555.55 points after performing six stable dives to claim the title. Young teammate Chen earned more than 100 points for two of his dives, collecting an overall 551.55 points while Russian Victor Minibaev took the bronze medal with 499.35 points.

"I had not competed for both individual and synchro in a single meet for more than four years. There were some mistakes in my dives today and I was nervous in the final," said Lin.

"I still need to improve my high DD compared with my younger teammate Chen and other competitive rivals," he added. 

On competing at the Water Cube, Minibaev said: "The conditions here are very good. I like it very much!"

Russia's Artem Chesakov finished fourth while Mexico's Ivan Garcia injured his right ankle and withdrew from the final after his second dive. (fina)

DWS 2013, Beijing: Chinese divers sweep synchro events on day 1

Beijing, CHINA – LONCAT INDAH INDONESIA - Spearheaded by Olympic champions Minxia Wu, Ruolin Chen, Kai Qin and Chong He and some fresh faces of the traditional diving powerhouse, China's divers swept the four synchronised diving events on day 1 of the FINA/Midea Diving World Series at Beijing's Water Cube on March 15, 2013.

With a record of six Olympic diving medals, Wu, who partnered with Olympic champion Zi He in synchro events, now combines with 1m springboard World champion Tingmao Shi. And it proved to be a winning combination for the Chinese as they claimed victory with a margin of 30.81 points ahead of silver medallists Alicia Blagg/Rebecca Gallantree of Britain, who totalled 305.79 points. The bronze went to Ukrainians Olena Fedorova/Anna Pysmenska with 305.79 points.

"Shi is a newcomer. We pair with each other because we have a similar rhythm. We train so hard and know each other better and better since we started training together for the synchro event. We hope we can be more synchronised in the future," Wu said.

Olympic champions Chong He and Kai Qin also partnered for the first time and took out the men's 3m springboard synchro with a total 468.90 points. The new pair met little challenge in the final as they pulled away the six other pairs competing after the first round and never looked back.

"This is our first international event as a pair, I'm happy to train together with Qin, who is my best friend," He said.

"Today's result is better than what we expected because we only trained with each other for one month."

Russians Evgeny Kuznetsov/Ilya Zakharov finished second with a margin of 38.58 behind the Chinese while Mexico's Yahel Castillo/Daniel Islas placed third with 396.15 points.

Olympic champion Ruolin Chen and new partner Huixia Liu were the best in the women's 10m platform synchro with 351.78 points.

"It's my first title at the Water Cube," said Liu. "My dives were not perfect but I'm so happy that we still won. I want to say thank you to my partner Chen."

Canadian duo Meaghan Benfeito/Roseline Filion was second with 316.71 points. Yulia Koltunova/Natalia Goncharova from Russia settled for the bronze with 316.56 points.
 

In the men's 10m platform synchro, Chinese pair Yue Lin/Aisen Chen carried the lead of the four-pair field until a decisive win, totalling 493.47 and beating runner-ups Victor Minibaev/Artem Chesakov of Russia by 53.82 points. Mexicans Ivan Garcia/Adan Zuniga picked up the bronze with 403.47 points.

"We did what we expected," said 2008 Olympic champion in the event Lin. "There were only four pairs in the final today but I think we all performed well." (fina)

DGP 2013, Madrid day 3: Prokopchuk (UKR) prevents complete Chinese sweep

LONCAT INDAH INDONESIA, China confirmed their dominance by winning the two men's synchronised events, the 3m springboard and platform, on the final day of the FINA Diving Grand Prix 2013 in Madrid. Chao He / Shixin Li were the best in the springboard, finishing with 419.79 points. Ukrainian pair Oleksandr Gorshkovozov / Oleg Kolodiy took silver with 372.33 points while Mexicans Jonathan Ruvalcaba / Carlos Moreno completed the podium with 371.01 points.

Ukraine's Iulia Prokopchuk captured the gold in the women's 10m platform with 342.80 points, besting by a few points China's Yajie Si (339.70). Russian Ekaterina Petukhova claimed the bronze with 300.65 points.

In the last final of the meet, China's Siyi Xie / Jian Yang won the platform synchro event with 458.64 points, beating Cuba's Jose Guerra / Jeinkler Aguirre (388.80) and Jahir Ocampo / Diego Balleza Isaias from Mexico (350.91).

DGP 2013, Madrid day 2: China's supremacy continues

LONCAT INDAH INDONESIA, Day 2 of the FINA Diving Grand Prix in Madrid, Spain, was highlighted by two Chinese victories. In the men's 3m springboard, Chao He and Shixin Li finished 1-2 with 501.60 and 435.60 points, respectively. Ukraine's Oleksandr Gorshkovozov (UKR) took third spot with 406.05 points.

In the women's springboard synchro, Chinese pair Jiao Liu and Qulin Zheng were the best with 297.90 points. Viktoriya Kesar/Anna Pysmenska from Ukraine picked up silver with 275.40 points while Russia's Ekaterina Ukolova and Elena Chernykh claimed the bronze with 274.11 points.