Russia halts China run

Gold medalist Ilya Zakharov (C) of Russia poses on the podium with silver medalist Qin Kai (L) of China and bronze medalist He Chong of China, during the men’s 3m springboard victory ceremony at the London 2012 Olympic Games Tuesday. — Reuters

LONDON – Separated by a mere 1.25 points, the gold medal all came down to the last dive between Qin Kai and Ilya Zakharov at the London Olympics.

Owning the lead and diving one spot ahead of Zakharov, Qin scored 89.10 points for a reverse 2 1/2 somersault with 1 1/2 twists pike. Zakharov hit a much tougher dive, a forward 4 1/2 somersault tuck, for 104.50 points, and pumped his left arm as he swam toward the edge of the pool.

The Russian had clinched the gold medal, spoiling China’s bid to sweep all eight diving events in London.

“I’m so pleased that I have managed to take away at least one medal from China,” Zakharov said through a translator. “After the last dive when I came up to the surface and I heard the noise that’s when the happiness swept over me.”

He totaled 555.90 points in the six-round final Tuesday night. It was Russia’s first diving gold since 2000, when the country won the men’s 10-meter platform synchro in Sydney.

“He always tries very difficult dives,” Qin said. “This time he pulled them off.”

Zakharov ended a streak of his own. The 21-year-old diver from St.

Petersburg was runner-up in 3-meter synchro in London, and in both 3-meter synchro and individual at last year’s world championships. Zakharov finished second in three times on individual 3-meter during this year’s World Series events.

Qin settled for silver at 541.75. He Chong, the defending champion and Qin’s teammate, earned the bronze at 524.15 in front of a crowd that included Sammy Lee, the first man to win consecutive golds in platform. The 92-year-old American won his first title in London in 1948 and repeated in 1952.

The Chinese swept the four synchronized events and then won the women’s 3-meter for their fifth gold. But Zakharov had signaled that he was a threat to their domination, having led after the preliminaries and taking second in the semifinals earlier Tuesday.

For a while, it was a three-man race between Zakharov, Yahel Castillo of Mexico and Qin. But Castillo gave up the lead for good in the fifth round and eventually faded to sixth.

Zakharov outscored Qin and He in the fifth round. He totaled 99.45 for a forward 2 1/2 somersault with three twists pike – worth a 3.9 degree of difficulty. He did the same dive for 97.50 in the last round, but the toughest dive on Qin’s list was worth a maximum of 3.8.

“My trump card were my last two dives,” Zakharov said.

The Russian lost to Qin and his partner Luo Yutong in 3-meter synchro.

China won 7 of 8 gold medals four years ago in Beijing, losing only the men’s 10-meter. The Chinese won all eight golds at last year’s world championships in Shanghai. — AP