TOKYO (Reuters) – China claimed its first diving gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics on Sunday, keeping its winning streak in the sport rolling in the women’s events.
Aiming for a clean sweep of all eight diving golds on offer in women’s and men’s events, the Asian powerhouse claimed the women’s 3 metres synchronised springboard tile with Shi Tingmao and Wang Han leading the five-round final from the very start, finishing on 326.40 points.
Cheers from team mates and coaches rang around the mostly empty venue when the duo plunged into the pool with almost no splash on their last dive, showing once again their dominance of the event.
China has now won each of the five Olympic titles in the women’s synchronised 3 metre springboard since the event made its Olympic debut in 2000.
For Shi, the Tokyo win marked a second successive Olympic gold medal in the event, while Han grabbed her first.
Canadian pair Jennifer Abel and Melissa Citrini-Beaulieu took silver with 300.78 points, followed by Lena Hentschel and Tina Punzel of Germany with 284.97 points.
(Reporting by Yuki Nitta; Editing by Stephen Coates and Kenneth Maxwell)
