Olympics Diving results, August 16: China’s Cao Yuan wins the gold in the 3m springboard
By Brad Weiss
The 2016 Rio Olympics diving competition continued on Tuesday, as the men took to the springboard for the men’s 3m springboard semifinals and final.
The 2016 Rio Olympics diving competition continued on Tuesday, as the men competed in the 3m springboard event. The day began with the semifinal round, as 18 divers tried to make their way to the final round. Like in nearly every other diving event during the 2016 Games, China took the gold medal.
During the semifinal round, Russia Ilia Zakharov, the reigning gold medalist in the event, incredibly had the worst dive of the day. On his third dive, Zakharov scored zero points, as he completely botched his forward dive. The zero placed him last in the semis, and in turn, he missed out on defending his title.
The best score in the semifinals belonged to China’s Cao Yuan, who would ride that momentum to a gold medal. Yuan posted a total score of 547.60 in the final round, defeating the next best diver by over 23 points. Yuan completed four of his six dives for over 90.00 points, as he dominated his competition.
The silver medal belonged to Great Britain’s Jack Laugher, who earned his second medal of the Games. He teamed with Chris Mears to win the gold medal in the men’s 3m synchronized springboard, and he really did a nice job in the individual event on Tuesday. His score of 96.90 on his fifth dive tied Yuan for the second-highest score of the day.
Germany’s Patrick Hausding picked up the bronze medal, avenging his fourth place finish during the 2012 London Olympics. Hausding actually had the highest scoring dive of the day, scoring 98.80 on his fifth dive of the day. That dive catapulted him into third place, where he hung on to earn his spot on the podium.
MEDAL RESULT | Men's 3m Springboard
American Kristian Ipsen performed well throughout the day, earning a sixth place finish in the event. He saved his best dive for last during the final round, posting an 89.70, which was his highest scoring dive of the finals.
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The diving competition will continue on Wednesday, as the women take to the platform for their 10m platform preliminary round.