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TEENAGER Xie Siyi claimed China’s fourth straight diving gold Monday as the diver won the men’s 1-meter springboard title at the ongoing aquatics championships in Kazan.
China’s Chen Ruolin and Liu Huixia successfully defended their women’s 10m synchronized diving title Monday.
The 19-year-old Xie took the title with a total of 485.50 points, beating off a strong challenge from Ukraine’s Illya Kvasha, the 2013 silver medalist in the event, who collected 339.05 points over the six rounds while Mike Hixon of the United States won bronze with 428.30.
Kvasha had the consolation of becoming the first non-Chinese diver to claim multiple medals in men’s 1m springboard at world championships.
China has now won all of the men’s 1m springboard titles at the last five worlds — and eight of the last nine.
Having swept up all 10 titles on offer when the 2011 swimming world championships were held in Shanghai, Chinese divers have won all three diving golds up for grabs so far in Kazan, Russia.
Wu Minxia and Shi Tingmao won the world 3m women’s synchronized gold Saturday the same day Si Yajie and Tai Xiaohu, both just 17, won the mixed synchro 10m title. On Sunday, Chen Aisen and Lin Yue won the 10m synchro men’s gold.
Earlier, Jordan Wilimovsky cruised to a 12.1-second victory in the 10-kilometer open water race, one of 10 men to qualify for a berth in next year’s Olympics.
The 20-year-old American, took the lead with 3 kilometers remaining and powered through the finish chute to hit the touchpad in 1 hour, 49 minutes, 48.2 seconds. Wilimovsky pulled out to a comfortable lead heading into the final circuit on the Kazanka River. “My strategy was to hang back for the first five kilometers, build up at the last five kilometers and have enough at the end to hopefully finish fast,” Wilimovsky said.
Ferry Weertman of the Netherlands earned silver in 1:50:00.3. Two-time 10k world champion Spyridon Gianniotis of Greece took bronze in 1:50:00.7 to earn his fifth Olympic berth at age 35.(SD-Agencies)
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