Olympics Diving results, August 14: China’s Shi Tingmao takes gold in the Women’s 3m springboard
By Brad Weiss
China’s Shi Tingmao is having an incredible 2016 Olympics, and on Sunday, she took home the gold medal in the Women’s 3m springboard.
As expected, China won another gold in the 2016 Rio Olympics diving competition, this time in the Women’s 3m springboard. In fact, China has not lost in the Olympics in any 3m springboard competition since 1988. Shi Tingmao took the gold, while fellow countrywoman He Zi won the silver, as China continues to dominate this event.
For Tingmao, this is her second gold medal in this Olympics, as she also won the Women’s 3m synchronized springboard competition with Wu Minixia. Minixia was the gold medal winner in this event during the 2012 London Olympics, though she did not participate in it in Rio. Last year, Tingmao was named the FINA Diver of the Year.
Tingmao took the gold with an amazing score of 406.05.
Right behind Tingmao was Zi, who has now won the silver in this event the last two Olympics. Zi was FINA’s Diver of the Year in 2014, and is still considered one of the best divers in the world in this event. Her score of 387.90 was better than the 379.20 she posted to take the silver medal in 2012.
The feel good story of this event was Italy’s Tania Cagnotto, who finished fourth in the event during the 2012 London Olympics. In 2012, she missed out on a bronze medal by 0.20 points, but she had a much better outcome in Rio. Cagnotto was the bronze medal winner on Sunday, beating out Canada’s Jennifer Abel by more than five points to secure the medal.
Abel actually had the best score in the preliminary rounds, and it looked like she was going to at least challenge for a medal. She did just that, but fell just a few points short of joining her competitors on the podium. She finished sixth in the event in 2012, so her showing in 2016 was definitely better.
MEDAL RESULT | Women's 3m Springboard
Next: 30 Olympic athletes who have dominated their events
On Monday, the men head to the springboard, as they compete in the Men’s 3m springboard. China is once again expected to take home the gold medal, as Cao Yuan and He Cao are dominant divers in this event.