In Synch: China sweeps first four Diving events

Updated: 2008-08-13 16:51:23

(L-R) Kai Qin and Wang Feng of China pose with the gold medal. (Photo credit: Nick Laham/Getty Images)

(BEIJING, August 13) -- China is halfway toward its dream of eight Diving gold medals after Qin Kai and Wang Feng won the Men's Synchronized 3m Springboard with a score of 469.08. The host nation has won all four Synchronized Diving events of the Beijing Olympics. Dmitry Sautin and Yuriy Kunakov of Russia earned silver, while Illya Kvasha and Oleksiy Prygorov of Ukraine took bronze.

Qin and Wang are the reigning world champions and were the heavy favorites coming into the event. Their supremacy was evident from start to finish -- they ranked first in each of their six dives, including an emphatic 94.50-point final dive that put them ahead of Russia by 50 points.

Legendary Russian diver Dmitry Sautin, five-time Olympian from 1992 through 2008, won his eighth Olympic medal at the age of 34. The Russian pair overcame an eighth-ranked fifth dive with a solid score on their final dive to secure silver.

The pair from Ukraine pulled ahead in a tight race for third with an 84-point fifth dive that put them temporarily in second place. Needing near-perfect final dives to reach the podium, the US and Canadian pairs fell short and Kvasha and Prygorov won bronze by 4.32 points.

Canadian diver Alexandre Despatie, silver medalist in the Individual 3m Springboard at Athens, and his 37-year-old partner Arturo Mirnada were in third place through the first three dives but a poor fourth dive dropped them into fifth place.

The Individual Diving events begin on August 14 with the Women's 3m Springboard. Qin Kai will take part in the Individual Men's Springboard event with compatriot He Chong. The event is scheduled to begin on August 18 and end on August 19.

Synchronized Men's 3m Springboard, final standings:

1. China -- Qin kai and Wang Feng, 469.08

2. Russia -- Dmitry Sautin and Yuriy Kunakov, 421.98

3. Ukraine -- Illya Kvasha and Oleksiy Prygorov, 415.05

4. USA -- Chris Colwill and Jevon Tarantino, 410.73

5. Canada -- Alexandre Despatie and Arturo Miranda, 409.29

6. Germany -- Pavlo Rozenberg and Sascha Klein, 402.84

7. Great Britain -- Nicholas Robinson-Baker and Benijamin Swain, 402.36

8. Australia -- Scott Robertson and Robert Newberry, 393.60

Qin Kai (L) and Wang Feng pose with gold medals. (Photo credit: Xinhua)

Wang Feng and Qin Kai compete. (Photo credit: Paul Gilham/Getty Images)