NAPOLI, 8 July – China and Mexico added to their impressive medal hauls on Monday as the Napoli 2019 diving competition came to an end at Mostra d’Oltremare Swimming Pool.

The Chinese delegation won three of four finals and added a second-place finish on the afternoon to conclude the meet with 15 medals, 11 of them gold.

 

The Mexican squad returned home with 11 medals, including four triumphs, thanks to one gold and three silvers on the final day.

 

Mexico’s Diego Balleza (right) dominated the last individual final of the Games, the men’s 10-metre platform, scoring 453.70 to easily distance Huang Bowen of China (417.35) and 18-year-old Canadian Laurent Gosselin-Paradis (399.10).

 

The 24-year-old champion, who had placed sixth in the event at the 2017 Universiade in Taipei, ended the 30^thFISU Games with a whopping four medals (2-2-0).

 

“I’m really happy with my performance today. It’s been a great competition for me and to win the individual platform final is the icing on the cake.”

 

China then swept the last three podiums of the meet.

 

In the mixed team final, Huang and Jiao Jingjing ran away with the title thanks to a 381.80 score. The battle for second position is what kept spectators on the edge of their seats as Mexico’s Alejandra Estrella and Adan Zuniga (358.80) edged South Korea’s Cho Eunbi and Yi Jaegyeong (357.20) by less than two points.

 

“It was a great week for us,” said Huang, a four-time gold medallist three months ago at the FINA Grand Prix in Calgary, Canada. “Of course, it would have been nice to win gold as well in the individual final, but my opponent was sensational today.”

 

Once all the action in the pool was done, China was awarded two more gold medals in the women’s and men’s team classification categories, based on teams’ overall performances during the entire competition. Mexico swept the silver medals, while bronze went to the South Korean women and Russian men.

RESULTS:

Men’s 10m Platform

Gold: Diego Balleza (MEX)

Silver: Huang Bowen (CHN)

Bronze: Laurent Gosselin-Paradis (CAN)

 

Mixed Team Event

Gold: Jiao Jingjing / Huang Bowen (CHN)

Silver: Alejandra Estrella / Adan Zuniga (MEX)

Bronze: Cho Eunbi / Yi Jaegyeong (KOR)

 

Women’s Team Classification

Gold: China

Silver: Mexico

Bronze: South Korea

 

Men’s Team Classification

Gold: China

Silver: Mexico

Bronze: Russia

 

 6 July 

NAPOLI, 6 July - It was another successful day for China at the Mostra D’Oltremare Swimming Pool, with the next edition’s Summer Universiade host country making it a clean sweep of gold medals in the diving. The Chinese athletes clinched gold medals in all three of the finals: Women’s 3m Springboard, Men’s 3m Synchronised Springboard and Women’s 10m Synchronised Platform.

 

The first of the three saw Chunting Wu claim a stunning gold in the Women’s 3m Springboard, following the morning semifinals round. Wu’s dominance was evident from the very beginning and she continued to impress the judges right throughout the five final rounds. She ended the event well ahead of the rest with an outstanding score of 351.85, with Dolores Hernandez Monzon of Mexico in second, and Russia’s Karina Shkliar in third.

 

Wu told FISU just what the gold medal meant to her.

 

“I’m feeling pretty good,” said the Guangzhou Sport University student. “It’s really my pleasure and privilege to represent my country and my college.

 

“It was really great, I feel so proud,” she added. “I will now cheer on my teammates and have a lot of celebrations with them.”

 Diving judges of the 30th Summer Universiade look on during the Women’s 3m Springboard event

It’s been a hugely successful few days for the Chinese athlete, who took silver in 1m Springboard on Thursday, before helping her country to gold in the Mixed 3m Springboard yesterday.

 

The Men’s 3m Synchronised Springboard final was up next, with Pingan Li and Zijie Hu working together perfectly to claim top spot. The pair produced a first-class display, with their total of 403.71 after six rounds ensuring a comfortable victory, coming ahead of silver medalists Ilia Molchanov and Nikita Nikolaev of Russia, and Italian duo Andrea Cosoli and Francesco Porco, who clinched bronze.

 

FISU spoke to Hu, one half of the gold medal winning pair, who explained the reasons behind their success.

 

“It feels great,” said Hu. “First of all, we trust each other as teammates, and we have good communication.”

 

“You may face some difficulties, but you must find a way out,” he added. “I communicate with my partner, which helps me to relax.”

 

And completing the triple success was Jingjing Jiao and Jiao Wu, who took gold in the final of the Women’s 10m Synchronised Platform. Their final score of 305.76 ensured they overcame Mexico’s Daniela Zambrano Montiel and Alejandra Estrella who claimed silver, with Korea’s Eunbi Cho and Nayun Moon finishing with bronze.

 

The gold medal winning pair expressed their delight at finishing in first place.

 

“It’s a great honour to be here,” said Jiao. “We’re very thankful to be in this competition.

 

“We’re very lucky, said the student from Xi’An Physical Education. “We’ve worked hard to balance training and study.”

 

Her teammate Wu added: “In the individual event, we didn’t get the results we wanted. But we didn’t give up, we kept fighting and now we have a good result here. We’re very happy.”

 

The Diving continues tomorrow with the Men’s Platform preliminary, followed by the Women’s 3m Synchronised final and the Mixed Platform Synchronised final. With the first dives into the pool having started last Tuesday, the entire event will soon come to a close, with all the Diving action ending on the afternoon of Monday 8th.

 

Results

 

Women’s 3m Springboard

 

Gold: Chunting Wu (CHN)

Silver: Dolores Hernandez Monzon (MEX)

Bronze: Karina Shkliar (RUS)

 

Men’s 3m Synchronised Springboard

 

Gold: Pingan Li/Zijie Hu (CHN)

Silver: Ilia Molchanov/Nikita Nikolaev (RUS)

Bronze: Andrea Cosoli/Francesco Porco (ITA)

 

Women’s 10m Synchronised Platform

 

Gold: Jingjing Jiao/Jiao Wu (CHN)

Silver: Daniela Zambrano Montiel/Alejandra Estrella (MEX)

Bronze: Eunbi Cho/Nayun Moon (KOR)

NAPOLI, 5 July – China dominated the Mostra d’Oltremare pool once again, with one gold medal from the men’s 10m synchronized platform and one from mixed 3m synchronised springboard. Mexican’s athletes also showed their excellent skills, which brought them one silver in men’s 10m synchronised platform, and a bronze in mixed 3m synchro springboard.

 

With an outstanding total score of 431.16, Lizhi Cao and Zigan Huang won the gold medal in men’s 10m synchronised platform. They nailed their reverse 3-1/2 somersaults with a high score of 90.78 in their fourth dive, which ensured they stayed in the lead until the final round.

 

“The fourth dive soothed our nerves, which enabled us to continue to perform our best in the fifth and sixth rounds,” said Huang. This is the duo’s first international competition, and they have teamed up only recently.

 

“The first time we met, we even had a big fight,” Cao recalls with a smile.

 

China’s second gold medal of the day came from Zijie Hu and Chunting Wu. They captured the gold medal with a total score of 301.38 in mixed 3m synchro springboard.

 

“Actually, I didn’t do well in my third dive,” said Hu. “But I didn’t want to be the laggard of our team. I asked myself to be even more focused on the last two dives. And I am happy with the outcome.”

 

Speaking of their excellence performance, Wu said “I think it’s because our minds are in sync. Just a single glance and we know what the other is thinking.” While both, Wu and Hu hope to continue their studies, they also want to compete in the Chengdu 2021 Summer Universiade.

 

The Canadian duo of Gosselin-Paradis and Ethan Pitman scored 374.97 in the men’s 10m synchronised platform final, to won bronze.

 

“We are both really excited, because we won the first medal for Canada,” said Gosselin-Paradis. “We were aiming for the podium, so coming third was really exciting for us today.”

 

The Universiade diving competition continues on 6 July with women’s 3m springboard, 3m synchronised, 10m synchronised, and men’s 3m synchronised.

 

Results

Men’s 10m synchronised platform

Gold: Lizhi CAO / Zigan HUANG (CHN)

Silver: Andres VILLARREAL TUDON / Jose Dieg BALLEZA ISAIAS (MEX)

Bronze: Laurent GOSSELIN-PARADIS / Ethan PITMAN (CAN)

 

Mixed 3m synchro springboard

Gold: Zijie HU / Chunting WU (CHN)

Silver: Egor LAPIN / Evgeniia SELEZNEVA (RUS)

Bronze: Carolina MENDOZA H. / Adan E. ZUNIGA ORNELAS (MEX)

 

4 July: With diving into a third day of competition, it was time for medals to start 

 

One-two for China in women’s 1m springboard

NAPOLI, 4 July -- Shoulin Song of China opened the medal tally of the 30^thSummer Universiade, as she and compatriot Chunting Wu dominated the women’s 1m springboard competition in the Mostra d’Oltremare pool. On a searing hot day, with a sizeable Chinese media contingent cheering them on, Song and Wu struck gold and silver, ahead of American Daria Tabea Lenz.

 

Despite two fancied Mexican Olympians in the fray – Carolina Hernandez and Dolores Monzon – it was the two Chinese divers that had set the standard in the preliminaries on Wednesday too, finishing first and second.

 

They kept up that form going into the finals, with Wu taking the lead in the first of five rounds with a score of 54.00. Daria Tabea Lenz stayed neck and neck with her, with an identical score as Song and Mendoza followed with scores of 50.40.

 

Through the next three rounds of dives, the lead went back and forth between Song, Wu, Lenz and Mendoza. It was in the last round that Song pulled off the real stunner. Trailing her teammate Wu by a narrow margin – 199.85 to 200.40 – she nailed her forward 2 ½ somersault dive to perfection eliciting a roar from the Chinese contingent. The 58.5 points she scored were more than enough to seal gold as despite Wu’s best efforts, she could only manage 55.90 in her last dive.

 

Song top-scored with a total of 258.35 after five dives to claim the gold, with Wu wrapping up a one-two finish for China. Lenz won bronze for America on their Independence Day.

 

“I am really excited to win the gold medal,” said a very composed Song after the competition. “I know the calibre of my teammates, so it was special to have competed with Wu for the gold.”

 

Liu wins second gold for China in men's 1m springboard

China's Chengming Liu made it a second diving gold of the day for China, as he pulled off a series of near perfect dives to win the men's 1m springboard title. Finishing with 399.00 points Liu finished 42 points ahead of his nearest rival, Germany's Frithjof Seidel, who scored 357.75.

 

Gabriele Auber earned Italy's first medal of the Universiade with a third-place finish, earning 356.20 points from his six dives.

 

Mexico’s Estrella wins women's 10m platform

Alejandra Estrella made up for the morning’s disappointment for Team Mexico, as she won gold in the women's 10m platform competition. Her compatriots Carolina Hernandez and Dolores Monzon had missed out on the podium in the women’s 1m springboard event in the morning, but it was smooth sailing for Estrella.

 

Estrella finished a whole 46 points ahead of the next competitor, with a total of 327.65 points from her six dives.

 

Cho Eun-bi of South Korea took silver with 281.25 points and Britain's Gemma Louise McArthur took bronze, scoring 267.95 points.

 

Another gold for Chengming Liu in men’s 3m springboard

Having already won gold in the men’s 1m springboard, Chengming Liu doubled it up by winning the men's 3m springboard final as well. It was a much harder fight for this medal though, as he had to climb back up the standings after being in eighth position following the second round of dives. With strong dives in the last three rounds and an especially astounding last dive, Liu totaled 421.20 to finish on top.

 

Jaegyeong Yi of South Korea won the silver medal, ahead of Russian Ilia Molchanov who also came from behind to finish with a flourish, ending with 409.65 points.

 

Chengming Liu (CHN) wins yet another gold medal today- this time in the Men's 3m Platform Diving ????????. #Napoli2019 #ToBeUnique #Universiade

???????????? Watch the Universiade on https://t.co/JKqaRYyPFF from 3 to 14 July! ????????? pic.twitter.com/n0SWIZexJ8

— FISU (@FISU) July 4, 2019

 

Diving competition continues tomorrow with the men’s 10m platform synchronised event and also the mixed team 3m springboard synchronised preliminaries and finals. More Chinese divers will surely be seeking gold and today’s gold medallist Shoulin Song will be cheering them on from the stands as she is not entered in any other diving events.

 

“This evening, I will celebrate with my team,” she added, referring to her gold medal, the first of the Universiade.  

 

Gold medal dive for Shoulin Song (CHN) in Women's 1m Springboard Diving ???????? #Napoli2019 #ToBeUnique #Universiade

???????????? Watch the Universiade on https://t.co/JKqaRYyPFF from 3 to 14 July! ????????? pic.twitter.com/dtIXtowD3F

— FISU (@FISU) July 4, 2019

 

 

 

Action heats up in more ways than one

NAPOLI, 3 July - The Summer Universiade 2019 officially kicks off late evening on 3 July, but the diving competition is already into its second day. Divers in the men’s 3m springboard and women’s 1m springboard events showed off their skills at the Mostra d’Oltremare’s resplendent pool. Several Chinese divers came up with outstanding performances.

 

Chunting Wu and Shoulin Song cemented first and second place respectively, in the women’s 1m springboard preliminaries. Wu finished with 262.95, followed by Song with 252.95. As per competition rules, these two divers advance directly to the final.

 

In the men’s 3m springboard preliminary round, Bowen Huang from team China secured the first place with a score of 400.30. Jordan Pisey Windle from USA currently stands in second place, with a total score of 391.55. The next round will begin at 10:00 tomorrow.

 

The action is heating up, in more ways than one as the Neapolitan sun beats down upon the outdoor venue. It may even be too hot for some, but for others, it feels like home.

 

Daria Tabea Lenz from USA says this weather is perfect for her. “I am from California, and I normally dive outdoors, so this weather is pretty ideal for me,” she said happily.

 

Daria is hoping to advance to the finals, which will take place in the afternoon of 4 July.

 

By U-Media Reporter Jie-Yao Ma

 

 

USA team second only to Italians in garnering crowd support

 

NAPOLI, 2 July -- The wait is finally over. The much-anticipated Napoli 2019 Summer Universiade officially gets underway today with a whole host of sports taking place, leading up to the Opening Ceremony. There was, however, some crucial action on Tuesday, in the diving pool at Mostra d’Oltremare with the very first jumps, twists, kicks, throws and turns.

 

The opening day of preliminary action also included the Piscina Comunale Casoria and Stadio del Nuota Caserta playing host to the opening fixtures of both, women’s and men’s water polo. Also on the day preceding the Opening Ceremony, a long list of venues witnessed the first few fixtures of the football competition. It was the action in the diving pool though, that boasted the first official activity of the 30^th Summer Universiade.

 

The competition began with both the men’s 1m springboard and the women’s 10m platform preliminaries and semi-finals, giving the Summer Universiade a strong kickstart. The excitement was palpable, as supporters, coaches, organisers, judges and the media all eagerly lined up for the opening action. Not a cloud was seen in the sky and the athletes from every corner of the world felt the heat in more ways than one. With the Neapolitan sun scorching down on the glistening pool, divers took to the board one by one, keen to plunge into the cold water below.

 

Cheers echoed around the arena as the divers showcased their prowess, with a particularly boisterous applause for three Italian athletes - Gabriele Auber, Andrea Cosoli and Francesco Porco - in the men’s 1m springboard event.

 

No doubt, this raucous home crowd support will be a constant throughout the competition. There was also a warm reception for the USA team, who will once again be among the favourites to claim glory in the pool. The Americans have had a strong showing continuously since winning gold medals in all four available divisions in Budapest 1965.

 

The USA team will be aiming for a top five finish in the diving overall medal count this time, having narrowly missed out in Taipei 2017 – where the competition was dominated by Asian countries, with North Korea taking home five gold. Russia topped the total medal count with ten and will be looking to assert their superiority once again in Napoli.

 

Diving competition continues at the Mostra d’Oltremare pool all the way through until the 8 July, when individual divers will battle it out for the 1m and 3m springboard and 10m platform titles, while synchronized divers will go head to head in the 3m springboard and 10m platform (men’s, women’s and mixed events).

 

Wednesday sees more preliminary and semifinal action in the men’s 3m springboard and the women’s 1m springboard events. The competition will wind up a few hours ahead of the grand opening ceremony at the San Paulo stadium, that starts at 21:00 (local time). Check out the 1-minute wrap of day 1 action in the diving pool. 

  

Splashy first day of competition at the Napoli 2019 Summer Universiade! ?????????? #Napoli2019 #ToBeUnique #Universiade pic.twitter.com/lxzS4jynEd

— FISU (@FISU) July 2, 2019