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Diving force Chinese spring to more goldPosted: Thursday September 28, 2000 12:00 AMUpdated: Thursday November 09, 2000 12:51 PM
SYDNEY, Australia (CNNSI.com) -- China won two more diving golds as Australia gladly settled for a pair of bronzes. Xiong Ni teamed with Xiao Hailiang to dominate the men's synchronized 3-meter springboard Thursday, winning his second gold of the Games. The story line was the same for women's synchronized 10-meter platform, where Li Na and Sang Xue routed the rest of the eight-team field. The Americans, meanwhile, were all out of sync. David Pichler and Troy Dumais finished fourth in the men's event, missing a bronze by less than two points. On the women's side, Laura Wilkinson and Jenny Keim sobbed in disappointment after slumping to fifth. "We thought we could do a little better," Wilkinson said before she was awash in tears. "It just wasn't our day." This day belonged to the world's most dominant diving nation -- with a nod to the home team, as well. The Chinese, who devote more time to synchronized training than other countries, never trailed in either event. The Aussies, who had captured only one medal in their diving history, picked up two about an hour apart. Rebecca Gilmore and Loudy Tourky won bronze in platform, and Robert Newberry and Dean Pullar earned the bronze on springboard.
A near-sellout crowd at the Sydney International Aquatic Center waved flags and chanted "Aussie! Aussie! Aussie!" "We hope this is going to lift the profile of diving in Australia immensely," Newberry said. Pichler, a 32-year-old from Butler, Pa., diving in his second Olympics, and Dumais, 12 years younger, started slowly before making a run for a medal on their last two dives. They received marks of 7.5 and 8.0 for their final effort, a forward 2 1/2 somersault with two twists that equaled the highest degree of difficulty of any dive in the event. But Newberry and Pullar pulled off high enough marks with a reverse 1 1/2 somersault with 3 1/2 twists to finish with 322.86 points. Pichler and Dumais, of Ventura, Calif., had 320.91. "I guess it wasn't good enough," Dumais said. "We didn't miss a thing. There was nothing more we could have done. I don't know what the judges think or what they saw." They saw a dominating performance by the Chinese men, who picked up mostly 9s and 9.5s for a total of 365.58. Dmitry Sautin and Alexandre Dobroskok of Russia took silver with 329.97. "I came a long way, the hard way," said Xiong, who came out of retirement to bolster China's team. "I'm very happy to win two gold medals. I persevered through the adversity." Xiong, who also defended his Olympic title in the individual 3-meter, said he will retire again after competing in the Chinese national championships. Li and Sang sank the women's field with four 10s on their second effort, creating hardly a splash as their lithe bodies knifed through the water. The Chinese finished with 345.12 points. Canada's Anne Montminy, bronze medalist on the tower, and Emilie Heymans took silver with 312.03. "I'm very excited, but I wasn't very surprised," Li said. "It was normal." Wilkinson and Keim were second after the third of five dives, only to fall out of a medal spot with an inward, 2 1/2 somersault that drew scores no higher than 6.5 for execution. Wilkinson, of The Woodlands, Texas, broke down after being reminded that she already had an individual gold for the 10-meter platform. "I know," she said. "But I wanted this for Jenny, too." Li won her second medal of the Games, also taking silver in the individual platform. "The Chinese were way better," Montminy said. "They were practicing for two years. We practiced for 1 1/2 months." Gilmore and Tourky fired up the home crowd by claiming bronze at 301.50 -- the country's first diving medal since Richmond Eve in 1924. He won gold in men's plain high diving, which was dropped from the program after that year. Austria was fourth at 294.00, followed by the Americans with 291.42. The powerful Chinese, relegated to silvers in the first three diving events of these Games, have picked up three golds in a row. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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