Chen Ruolin and Liu Huixia take home 10m synchro platform gold

The first three favourites have been determined today in the morning according to the preliminary results. They were China, Canada and Malaysia. Barcelona 2013 in the women’s 10m synchro patform event saw exactly the same podium with the same duets at the same places. The host duet ended up in the 11th place whereas Singapore’s divers finished only 16th. However the current women’s 10m synchro platform final featured 12 incomparable duets. Among them is Melissa Wu who has become quite familiar to the audience in Kazan after winning the bronze medal in the mixed duet technical routine.

The final lineup was quite impressive. Meaghan Benfeito and Roseline Filion are London 2012 bronze medallists, British athlete Tonia Couch is a worthy contender for gold and European title holder, whereas Chen Ruolin is the eight-time world champion and the real powerhouse in this event.

In the final, the first dive performed by Chinese and Canadian athletes was much better than at the prelims, in contrast to Malaysia’s one which was right the opposite. According to the second round results, the Mexican divers were to round out the podium in third having only 1.5 points in their favour comparing with the British divers. The Malaysian duet of Pandelela Rinong Pamg and Mun Yee Leong moved to the fifth place.

Mexico started to fortify their positions. Paola Espinosa is the gold medallist of the Rome World Championships and can rise up to the challenge if needed. Apart from that, the Mexican duet took silver at the London 2012 Olympic Games.

This final looked like a true clash of the titans: all are well-known and highly ranked.

The second dive of China, which was breathtakingly synchronised, secured the girls’ lead. Team Canada improved their result and placed second with the Mexican duet being third.

Great Britain and Malaysia missed out on the podium. The first three dives put China and Canada at the head of the leaders’ pack, whereas the Malaysian divers could leave Mexico 1.5 points behind. Chen and Liu seemed to execute their dives without any nerves and emotions showing precise movements and outstanding teamwork. Unexpectedly after the fourth round People’s Republic of Korea finished third, Russia’s Ekaterina Petukhova and Yulia Timoshinina rose up to the fourth position. The final dive turned out to be decisive. It determined the medallists. Despite their fragility, all the female divers demonstrated strong will to win and fought for the spots to the end.

FINA Worlds 2015. Diving.

Women. 10m synchro platform.

1. Chen RUOLIN / Liu HUIXIA (CHN) - 359.52
2. Meaghan BENFEITO / Roseline FILION (CAN) - 339.99
3. Kim Un HYANG / Song Nam HYANG (PRK) - 325.26

Aquatics Palace, July 27

Press Office of Organising Committee for 16th FINA World Championships