KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, Aug. 23. A trio of events, the girls’ one-meter, girls’ platform and boys’ three-meter, were decided during the first day of competition at the 2006 FINA World Junior Diving Championships in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on Wednesday.
Girls’ A One-Meter
Ukraine’s Mariya Voloschenko put together a great string of dives during finals to jump from fifth place after prelims to capture gold in the girls’ A one-meter event. After tallying a 183.25 carry-over points from prelims, Voloschenko had some ground to make up as Canadian Kelly MacDonald held a 13-point advantage over her heading into finals. Meanwhile, China’s Jia Dongjin (189.75) and He Zi (188.90) as well as Austrian Veronika Kratochwil (187.85) also stood in her way in the quest for gold.
Voloschenko, however, ripped off a 221.50-point tally during finals to be the only 400-plus finalist of the night with a 404.75. Meanwhile, Dongjin held on for silver with 208.70 points for a 398.45 total, while her compatriot Zi garnered bronze with a 378.85 after posting 189.95 points in finals.
Meanwhile, Macdonald fell to 11th with 142.10 points in finals for a 338.60 tally, while Kratochwil took seventh with 181.85 finals points for 369.70 total.
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Girls’ B Platform
For the second consecutive event, someone other than a diver from China won gold at the FINA World Junior Diving competition. This development is a drastic change compared to most other recent international events. Australia’s Melissa Wu also had a come-from-behind triumph as she stood in a distant third in prelim carry-over points (180.25) with the Chinese duo of Wang Xin (193.95) and Xu Yafang (190.25) looking to dominate during finals.
Wu, however, blasted the competition during finals with an incredible tally of 257.90. She wound up with an overall point total of 438.15 to win by a comfortable 20-point margin. Meanwhile, Xin closed out the night with silver from a 418.75 tally after notching 224.80 points during finals. Yafang rounded out the top three with a bronze-winning 387.05 after posting 196.80 points during finals.
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Boys A Three-Meter
China’s Wang Yong left no doubt who was the best diver in the boys’ three-meter competition by lodging a 50-point conquest in the event. After registering 226.25 carry-over points during prelims for the top-qualifying spot, Yong recorded an outstanding 352.95 in finals for a 579.20 total.
Meanwhile, Ukraine’s Illya Kvasha scored silver with a 526.85 after posting 212.10 prelim points and 314.75 final points. Mexico’s Julian Sanchez rounded out the podium with a third-place 525.65 based on 199.40 prelims points and 326.25 final points.
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Competition continues on Thursday with the boys’ one-meter and platform events, while the girls take to the three-meter.