USA scores a pair of top-six finishes on day two of FINA World Jr. Diving Champ
USA Diving, 9/10/14
PENZA, Russia – Team USA scored a pair of top-six finishes Wednesday at the FINA World Junior Diving Championships. Cameron Thatcher (Powell, Ohio) and Jordan Windle (Morrisville, N.C.) took fifth in synchronized 3-meter, while Sarah Bacon (Indianapolis, Ind.) was sixth in the girls’ group A (16-18) 1-meter final.
Bacon scored 394.75 points to finish sixth in the 1-meter contest, carrying over 192.25 points from the preliminaries before scoring between 46.80 and 55.90 points on her four dives in the finals. China’s Wu Chunting won the gold with 421.30 points. Russia’s Maria Polyakova took silver with 415.25 points, edging Australia’s Maddison Keeney by .25 points for second place. Olivia Rosendahl (Los Angeles, Calif.) also competed for Team USA on 1-meter and finished 24th with 326.15 points.
Thatcher and Windle turned in a score of 293.88, highlighted by 70.68 points on their front 3 ½ pike, to finish fifth in the 3-meter synchro competition. Mexico’s Rodrigo Diego and Adan Zuniga led the field with 329.61 points for gold, with the Russian team of Nikita Nikolaev and Ilia Molchanov finished second at 307.80. Great Britain’s Sam Thornton and James Heatly picked up the bronze with 305.88 points.
Wednesday’s competition also included the group B (14-15) girls’ platform contest. Grace Cable (Winter Park, Fla.) scored 286.35 to finish 15th for Team USA, while Maggie Merriman (Orlando, Fla.) placed 16th with 282.50 points. China’s Song Anxin dominated the field with 394.10 points for gold. Great Britain’s Lois Mae Toulson finished with 352.90 points for silver, and China’s Li Jinming took the bronze with 351.05 points.
The FINA World Junior Diving Championships continue through Sunday, September 14. Thursday’s competition features Bacon and Rosendahl in group A 3-meter and Andrew Capobianco (Holly Springs, N.C.) and Josh Davidson (Tomball, Texas) in group B 1-meter.
