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CHINA WRAPS UP WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS 13-FOR-13 IN DIVING MEDALS
>> Chang Yani & Chen Yiwen
by Matthew De George
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China swept the last three diving medals at the 2022 FINA World Championships over the final two days of competition, completing a perfect 13-for-13 run for the diving superpower.
Two of those came via the women’s program. On Saturday, Chen Yiwen won the women’s 3-meter springboard, 35 points clear of Canada’s Mia Vallee. The bronze went to Chang Yani.
It was no surprise, then, when on Sunday, Chen and Chang won the women’s 3-meter synchro title. They tallied 343.14 points, 40 points clear of the Japanese duo Rin Kaneto and Sayaka Mikami. Australia picked up its second medal of the meet, via Maddison Keeney and Anabelle Smith in bronze.
That just left the men’s 10-meter platform. Yang Hao and Lian Junjie had won the synchro event, with Yang and Yang Jian in the individual event. Yang Jian won the event in 2019, earned bronze in 2017 and silver at the Tokyo Olympics.
A bad third round, though, sent Yang Jian’s to third and had Yang Hao in second place. But the 28-year-old Yang Jian rallied in the fifth round, doing enough to get to 515.55 points and jump Japanese teen Rikuta Tamai to gold. Yang Hao was third.
Chang and Chen had no such drama in the women’s synchro event, pulling away early. audience… They gave us a lot of energy and power, so we would like to thank it, we are very grateful for them.”
All told, China took 17 medals from 13 events, with 13 golds, two bronze and two silver. (Each nation was limited to one synchro pairing.) Great Britain was second on the medal table with six medals (three silver, three bronze) followed by the U.S. and Canada with three each. The U.S. has the edge with two silvers.
The American pair of Zachary Cooper and Maxwell Flory finished eighth in the 10-meter synchro. Sarah Bacon was third in the preliminary round of the 3-meter springboard but finished fifth in finals, 51 points off the medal stand. Josh Hedberg went from fifth in prelims in the men’s 10-meter platform to 11th place overall. «
