The Official Website of the Beijing 2008 Olympic GamesAugust 8-24 2008
(BEIJING, August 22) -- China's bid to take all eight Diving medals at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games is on track after Platform specialist Zhou Luxin finished first in the Men's 10m Platform preliminary on Friday, seeding him first for Saturday morning's semifinal.
Zhou had a slow start and was in 10th after the opening dive. But the World No. 2 showed his pedigree with his next effort, a back two-and-a-half somersault with one and a half twists in pike position (degree of difficulty: 3.4), and received 91.80 points from the seven judges to put him in top position.
Zhou went one better in the fourth round with a back three-and-a-half somersault in pike position (DD: 3.6) that earned him a perfect 10 from the seven judges. He then rounded off the six-dive session with another spectacular effort, a reverse three-and-a-half somersault in tuck position (DD: 3.4) to finish with a total 539.80 points.
Matthew Mitcham of Australia finished second on 509.60. He was tied for 11th after the first round, but the World No. 3 executed a tidy dive with no splash for his second, gaining 92.40 points and rising to second.
He achieved two 10s in the third round for an inward three-and-a-half somersault in tuck position (DD: 3.2). At that stage, he was only 4.20 points behind Zhou, but a mistake on entry in the fourth round widened the margin.
Gleb Galperin of Russia finished third, moving into the semifinal with 499.95 points. The Russian led after the opening dive but dropped points with his next three, slumping to ninth after four rounds. He fought back in the last two rounds, scoring more than 95 points in each dive.
World No. 1 Sascha Klein of Germany struggled with his entry throughout the session and went through to the semifinal in 10th on 453.80 points.
The youngest diver on show, 14-year-old Thomas Daley of Great Britain, looked nervous in the first two rounds but steadied himself from the third round and appeared to enjoy the competition in the last four dives. He qualified 12th to the semifinal with 440.40 points.
The top 18 will contest the semifinal on Saturday morning. The top 12 from semifinal will then move into the final on Saturday night.
Men's 10m Platform, semifinal qualifiers:
1. Zhou Luxin -- China, 539.80
2. Matthew Mitcham -- Australia, 509.60
3. Gleb Galperin -- Russia, 499.95
4. Peter Waterfield -- Great Britain, 497.65
5. Mathew Helm -- Australia, 484.40
6. David Boudia -- United States, 481.70
7. Thomas Finchum -- United States, 477.00
8. Huo Liang -- China, 472.95
9. Rommel Pacheco -- Mexico, 465.45
10. Sascha Klein -- Germany, 453.80
11. Jose Antonio Guerra Oliva -- Cuba, 443.20
12. Thomas Daley -- Great Britain, 440.40
13. Vadim Kaptur -- Belarus, 432.90
14. Riley McCormick -- Canada, 425.95
15. Reuben Ross -- Canada, 425.60
16. Jeinkler Aguirre -- Cuba, 423.75
17. Patrick Hausding -- Germany, 423.40
18. Juan Guillermo Uran -- Colombia, 418.00
