CHEN AISEN claimed Olympic gold in the men’s 10m platform event Saturday to help China take home seven out of Rio’s eight diving golds, while Mexico’s German Sanchez and American David Boudia took the silver and bronze, respectively.

    Chen, at his first Olympics, showed consistency throughout his dives, gaining high scores to total 585.30 with his tight spins and clean entries into the water even as his rivals, including teammate Qiu Bo, stumbled.

    “I didn’t think I would win two gold medals,” said Chen, who with Lin Yue won the 10m synchronized event. “I just wanted to dive well in the individual event, to show off my ability ... I managed to win because I was calm throughout.”

    His win meant that the only diving gold China failed to take in Rio was in the men’s 3m springboard event where they took the bronze instead.

    London 2012 silver medalist Qiu ended the competition in fifth place despite scoring a perfect 10 from all six judges on his third dive, after low scores of 47.25 and 47.50 on his second and fifth attempts knocked him out of the running for a podium spot.

    Boudia, who won gold in London, recovered from a poor semi-final performance, where he finished 10th, to acquire 525.25 points. His final lower-scoring dive pushed him down to third position at the last minute behind Sanchez who scored 532.70.

    “This dive has been a thorn in my side,” Boudia said of his sixth dive, a forward 4-1/2 somersaults tuck, which gave him his lowest score of 68.45.

    For some at home in Mexico, Sanchez’s second place was a surprise as he had gone into the final in ninth place and had finished the earlier synchronized event with partner Ivan Garcia in fifth. Garcia had qualified third from the semifinal but eventually finished 10th.

    “Actually after the last event there was a lot of talk about me and of course there were a lot of comments,” said Sanchez. “But of course we know that there’s a saying that God will never let his children be humiliated.

    “When I won (silver) I felt very peaceful and it’s fantastic to go back home with my medal; it’s a privilege, it’s an honor.”

    In the men’s competition, Chen and Lin Yue also won the synchronized platform and Cao Yuan the 3m springboard.

    Chinese women sweep all their titles — Ren Qian, 15, taking the 10m platform; Shi Tingmao the 3m springboard; Chen Ruolin and Liu Huixia the synchronized platform; and Shi and Wu Minxia, the synchronized 3m springboard.

    (SD-Agencies)