He Chao Joins Brother He Chong as World 3M Diving Champion at 2015 FINA World Championships

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Photo Courtesy: R-Sport / MIA Rossiya Segodnya

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He Chao succeeded his elder brother He Chong as 3m world champion, withstanding a riproaring challenge from Russia’s Olympic gold medallist Ilya Zakharov to put China back on the winning track in the Kazan diving pool and hoist their title tally to seven out of 10. Zakharov laid down a ferocious attack in the fifth and final round, pulling off a forward 4-1/2 somersaults (109C) which netted an enormous 106.40 points to put all the pressure on He Chao, taking on the same high 3.8 difficulty dive. But 23-year-old He, backed by an 11-point lead, did not buckle, earning 102.60 points himself to inherit the title won three times in succession by his 28-year-old brother He Chong, whom he had ousted from the Chinese line-up in the last national trials.

He Chao amassed 555.05 points from his five dives to consign Zakharov (547.60) to his second silver in Kazan, following the Russian’s third consecutive second place in the 3m synchro with Evgeny Kuznetsov. Jack Laugher of Great Britain, who held the lead after round two, clung on to the bronze, netting 528.90 points to stay ahead of Cao Yuan (523.95), former platform diver who won Olympic gold in the 10m synchro in 2012 and shared world gold in Kazan with Qin Kai in the 3m synchro. It was Laugher’s second medal in Kazan, following his bronze with Chris Mears in the 3m synchro, and capped a great week for Britain, which also featured gold for 2009 platform world champion Tom Daley and Rebecca Gallantree in the new 3m/10m team event. Kuznetsov, like Zakharov and He Chao, also topped the 100-mark with 102.60 for his final 109C but had to settle for fifth after bronze in 2011 and silver in 2013.

In a fluctuating battle, the lead was exchanged from Mexico’s Rommel Pacheco in round one, to Laugher, to Cao, before He Chao took over in the fourth round and extended China’s uninterrupted reign since Qin won in 2007, followed by the golden treble of the new number one’s brother, 2008 Olympic champion He Chong. The last non-Chinese 3m world champion was Canada’s Alexandre Despatie, who won in Montreal in 2005.

Zakharov proved China beatable when he won the 2012 Olympic 3m title but he and Kuznetsov have had to settle for silver behind their rivals more often than they would care to remember, both individually – Zakharov at the 2011 Worlds, Kuznetsov in 2013 – and together in the synchronised 3m at the 2012 Olympics and the Worlds of 2011, 2013 and 2015.

Germany’s Patrick Hausding slipped on the board on his first-round back 2-1/2 somersaults and badly injured his left knee, backside and two toes on his left foot. Hausding, European 3m champion in 2014, had to pull out, a painful exit after his golden World Championships in Barcelona in 2013 when he and Sascha Klein won the 10m synchro, the only diving title to escape China. Japan’s Ken Terauchi, world 3m bronze medallist back in 2001, was able to mix it with the best once again in Kazan and finished ninth, a week away from his 35th birthday.

The above article is a press release submitted to Swimming World. To reach our audience, contact us at newsmaster@swimmingworld.com.

2015 FINA World Championships, Diving: Day 7 Results – Results

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