Chen Yuxi (L) and Quan Hongchan of China pose after the medal ceremony for the women's 10m platform final at the World Aquatics Diving World Cup 2023 Super Final in Berlin, Germany, Aug. 5, 2023. (Xinhua/Ren Pengfei)
17-year-old Chen Yuxi defeated her teammate Quan Hongchan, the 16-year-old Olympic champion in the women's 10m springboard, while two-time world champion Wang Zongyuan claimed gold with a dominant performance in the men's 3m springboard at the World Aquatics Diving World Cup 2023 Super Final.
BERLIN, Aug. 6 (Xinhua) -- Three-time world champion Chen Yuxi prevailed over her Chinese teammate and Olympic champion Quan Hongchan to win the women's 10m springboard gold at World Aquatics World Cup Berlin Super Final on Saturday.
The women's 10m springboard final has become the battle between 17-year-old triple world champion Chen and her teammate, 16-year-old Quan who beat Chen to seize the Tokyo Olympic gold at 14.
Quan stumbled in her fourth dive, a 207C, to record her lowest score of 69.30 while Chen scored 89.10 points to take the lead by 7.40 points.
After the final dive, Chen finished at 420.30 points to seal the victory while Quan won the second podium with 408.10 points. Andrea Spendolini Sirieix of Britain won the bronze with 330.90 points.
Speaking of pressure, Chen said she was used to it and knew how to handle it.
"I love to compete with Quan. The contest between us always gives me motivation to progress and to fight for a higher goal," said Chen. "After three world cup tournaments and World Championships this season, I found my performance more stable with better mentality."
Wang Zongyuan of China displays his gold medal after the men's 3m springboard final, Aug. 5, 2023. (Xinhua/Ren Pengfei)
On the men's 3m springboard, two-time world champion and 2020 Olympic silver medalist Wang Zongyuan of China, won the gold with power and consistency. His lead was so great by round five that he would have placed second even without his final dive. In the end, Wang scored 540.60 points to claim the title.
"I had better dives in the finals than the preliminaries. I did a good job although my fourth dive was imperfect," said Wang.
The 21-year-old had won all the 3m individual golds at World Aquatics World Cup tournaments this season. As two-time World Championships title winner in 3m individual, Wang was eager to win the Olympic gold.
"I'm very much looking forward to Paris Olympics and I haven't won the Olympic gold in 3m individual event," said Wang. "I told myself not to think about it too much, but to use the ambition as the mentality power. I believe I can win the ideal result in Paris."
Moritz Wesemann claimed silver for host Germany, 76.45 points behind Wang. Andrew Capobianco of the United States took bronze after a rough start that put him in 10th place of the 12 finalists. He was still languishing in eighth place before his final two dives. His last dive (109C) scored 91.20 points and allowed him to surpass 35-year-old Li Shixin of Australia to finish third.
The Berlin Super Finals on Sunday will include women's 3m springboard and men's 10m platform, and the mixed team event. ■