Olympics Diving results, August 15: Men’s 3m springboard preliminary round
By Brad Weiss
The 2016 Rio Olympics Men’s 3m springboard event began on Monday, as the divers took to the pool for a shot in the finals on Tuesday.
The 2016 Rio Olympics diving competition continued on Monday, as the men took to the springboard for preliminary action. In total, 29 divers began competing in the Men’s 3m springboard event, with only 18 making it to the semifinals. The semis are slated for Tuesday morning, with the finals taking place later on in the day.
In the preliminary round, the divers must complete six dives, with no limit to difficulty. The five diving groups must be represented, as divers must complete a forward, backward, twisting, inward, and reversal dive. After each round, the numbers are erased, giving each diver a clean slate.
On Monday, China’s Cao Yuan, who is expected to be the gold medalist in the event, had the best preliminary of all 29 divers. Yuan put together two dives that were over 90.00 points, and finished with a score of 498.70 over his six dives.
Mexico’s Rommel Pacheco finished second on Monday, posting a score of 488.25, while United States diver Kristian Ipsen’s score of 461.35 was third best.
Russia’s Ilia Zakharov, the gold medalist from the 2012 London Olympics, barely made his way into the semifinals. The Russian finished the day with a score of 389.90, making the semis as the 18th and last diver. The scores all erase for the semis, so he has put himself in position to repeat as a gold medalist.
Great Britain’s Jack Laugher, who won a gold medal in the Men’s 3m synchronized springboard earlier in the Olympics, qualified as well on Monday. Laugher had the seventh-best overall score for his six dives, and will be a name to watch on Tuesday. Germany’s Patrick Hausding is another diver to keep an eye on, as he finished in fourth-place during the 2012 London Olympics.
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The semifinals and finals will take place on Tuesday, with the competition starting at 9:00am ET.