DIVING: China dominates, but wins “only” eight events at Montreal World Series

Two-time World Platform Champion Tom Daley (GBR) (Photo: The Rambling Man and Kim Ratcliffe of Think Equestrian via Wikimedia)

Well, it had to end eventually. China’s 20-event win streak in the FINA Diving World Series came to an end at the third stop of the circuit, in Montreal (CAN), but that didn’t mean that it didn’t dominate the event.

After winning all 10 events at the first two World Series stops in Japan and China, it was North Korea which triumphed in the women’s 10 m Synchro event, with Mi Rae Kim and Jin Mi Jo scoring 329.70. Canada’s Meaghan Benfeito and Caeli McKay were second at 328.47 and China’s Wei Lu and Jiaqi Zhang finished third (320.64). OK, the streak was over.

But a new one started right away, with Han Wang and Wei Lu taking the women’s 3 m and 10 m events and Siyi Xie winning the men’s 3 m Springboard. But after seven wins in a row, it was two-time World Champion Tom Daley (GBR) who won the 10 m Platform event to end China’s individual-event streak for 2019 at 11 straight. The Chinese went 2-3 with Jian Yang and Hao Yang, but Daley led from start to finish.

So, with three meets completed and two remaining, China has won 28 events to one each for Great Britain and North Korea. Next up is the World Series in Kazan (RUS) on 10-12 May. Summaries from Montreal:

FINA Diving World Series no. 3
Montreal (CAN) ~ 26-28 April 2019
(Full results here)

Men

3m Springboard: 1. Siyi Xie (CHN), 537.65; 2. Jack Laugher (GBR), 508.85; 3. Yuan Cao (CHN), 495.70.

10 m Platform: 1. Tom Daley (GBR), 550.05; 2. Jian Yang (CHN), 537.60; 3. Hao Yang (CHN), 497.15. Also: 6. David Dinsmore (USA), 450.95.

3 m Synchro: 1. Yuan Cao/Siyi Xie (CHN), 457.14; 2. Rommel Pacheco Marrufo/Jahir Ocampo Marroquin (MEX), 433.02; 3. Andrew Capobianco/Mike Hixon (USA), 416.49.

10 m Synchro: 1. Hao Yang/Junjie Lian (CHN), 464.52; 2. Tom Daley/Matt Lee (GBR), 412.20; 3. Kevin Berlin Reyes/Andres Villarreal Tudon (MEX), 398.46. Also: 6. David Dinsmore/Brandon Loschiavo (USA), 378.84.

Women

3 m Springboard: 1. Han Wang (CHN), 377.40; 2. Tingmao Shi (CHN), 370.00; 3. Maddison Keeney (AUS), 354.85.

10 m Platform: 1. Wei Lu (CHN), 423.85; 2. Yajie Si (CHN), 390.60; 3. Mi Rae Kim (PRK), 369.80.

3 m Synchro: 1. Tingmao Shi/Han Wang (CHN), 327.00; 2. Jennifer Abel/Melissa Citrini-Beaulieu (CAN), 306.27; 3. Maddison Keeney/Annabelle Smith (AUS), 303.39. Also: 4. Brooke Schultz/Samantha Bromberg (USA), 288.60.

10 m Synchro: 1. Mi Rae Kim/Jin Mi Jo (PRK), 329.70; 2. Meaghan Benfeito/Caeli McKay (CAN), 328.47; 3. Wei Lu/Jiaqi Zhang (CHN), 320.64. Also: 7. Delaney Schnell/Jessica Parratto (USA), 270.42.

Mixed

3 m Synchro: 1. Hao Yang/Yani Chang (CHN), 318.15; 2. Tom Daley/Grace Reid (GBR), 314.10; 3. Francois Imbeau-Dulac/Jennifer Abel (CAN), 310.89.

10 m Synchro: 1. Junjie Lian/Yajie Si (CHN), 342.21; 2. Il Myong Hyon/Jin Mi Jo (PRK), 320.10; 3. Nikita Shleikher/Iullia Timoshinina (RUS), 310.08. Also: 7. Tyler Downs/Katrina Young (USA), 271.53.