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ROME, Italy, July 22. THE semifinal round of the men's three-meter springboard set up a finale showdown between Canada's Alexandre Despatie and China's He Chong at the FINA World Championships.
During a day devoted to men's three-meter action, Despatie snagged the final spot in the finals rotation with 485.05 points to qualify first. Outside of a disappointing 61.25-point dive during the third round, Despatie's consistent greatness propelled him to the top spot.
He had a more roller coaster round than Despatie, and settled for second with 483.50 points. He's lowest dive also came in the third round, but tallied 68.25 points. However, his best dives could not overcome his less-than-stellar rounds. He does have the potential to capture the gold medal tomorrow.
Troy Dumais of the U.S. continued the American resurgence in the sport with a third-place tally of 471.50, while China's Zhang Xinhua (471.00), Australia's Matthew Mitcham (467.15) and Brazil's Cesar Castro (456.55) were among the top six.