By Kane Wu
PARIS (Reuters) – China’s Quan Hongchan will seek to confirm her dominance in the women’s 10-metre platform diving final after coming top of the semi-final standings on Monday.
The defending champion finished on 421.05 points after executing five spotless dives, 18 points higher than her teammate Chen Yuxi.
Quan’s total points after the first four dives would have ranked fourth among the finalists.
The 17-year-old showed consistency in her execution – scoring an average of 84.23 points from all her 10 dives in the preliminary round and the semi-final.
She was the only diver to achieve over 90 points in any dive – a back three and a half somersaults in a tucked position – which received the loudest applause from the spectators.
Chen, who won the women’s synchronised 10-metre platform event with Quan last week, is likely to be her major challenger in the final on Tuesday.
Her third dive in the semi-final landed the second highest score of the day – 87.45 points, with her splashless entry after three back somersaults from an arm stand position.
Chen was also runner-up to Quan in the Tokyo Games three years ago.
Medal contenders in the final also include Britain’s Andrea Spendolini Sirieix, whose controlled moves and neat entries placed her just behind the Chinese in the semi-final.
Spendolini Sirieix won the bronze medal in the synchronised 10-metre event with teammate Lois Toulson, who missed the 12-strong final list by one spot.
Canada’s Caeli McKay qualified for the final after ranking seventh place in the semi, but she was the only diver other than the Chinese to score over 80 points on Monday.
Her third dive in the preliminaries – an inward three-and-a-half somersaults in a tucked position – resulted in 81.60 points.
North Korean’s Kim Mi Rae, who claimed silver in the synchronised event with Jo Jin Mi, also made it to the final after finishing fourth in the semi.
(Reporting by Kane Wu, editing by Ed Osmond)
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