Olympics diving results, August 18: China’s Ren Qian wins the gold
By Brad Weiss
The 2016 Rio Olympics diving competitions have been owned by China, and on Thursday, they added two more medals to their total.
Throughout the 2016 Rio Olympics, China has dominated the diving competitions. While the men have been spectacular, the women have been downright dominating, winning gold in every event in Rio. On Thursday, they finished their women’s program with not only a gold medal, but also a bronze. The 2016 Chinese diving team will go down as one for the ages.
In the Women’s 10m platform, Si Yajie was supposed to walk away with the gold. After a dominating performance in the preliminary round, Yajie headed to the semifinals are the favorite. She did not disappoint, leading all divers in points during the semis. However, in the final round, she was defeated by her fellow countrywoman.
Ren Qian, who is only 15 years old, posted a score of 439.25 to win the gold medal. She beat Yajie by almost 20 points, and she absolutely saved her best dives for last. On her final three dives, Qian posted scores over 90.00 points, pulling away from the rest of the competition.
The biggest surprise may have been the bronze medalist, who came out of nowhere to take third place. Canada’s Meaghan Benfeito was in the middle of the pack during the prelims and semis, but she was dominant during the final round. She posted a score of 389.20, cruising to the bronze by over 21 points.
MEDAL RESULT | Women's 10m Platform
The biggest disappointment of the day may have been Jessica Parratto. The American was outstanding during the preliminary and semifinal rounds, but struggled mightily in the middle of her program. She posted scores of 44.80 and 52.80 on her third and fourth dives, respectively, and finished the final in tenth out of 12 divers.
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The women’s 10m platform was the final women’s event of this Olympics. The men will take to the platform for their own 10m competition on Friday, as they take part in the preliminary round.