China supreme but not invincible in diving

By Derek Parr

BEIJING (Reuters) - Australia's Matthew Mitcham conjured up a dive in a million and broke the golden spell China had woven from the Olympic boards.

Five of out eight Olympic diving golds for China in 2000 became six out of eight in 2000 and stood at seven out of seven in Beijing's Water Cube on Saturday with the Chinese lucky number eight looking a formality.

World silver medalist Zhou Luxin led by more than 30 points but faltered on his final effort and 20-year-old Mitcham grasped his chance, stunning the home crowd with a last dive under the most intense pressure imaginable on the 10-metre tower.

Mitcham unfurled an impeccable back 2-½ somersaults with 2-½ twists, which netted four perfect 10s and the highest-ever single score in a major championship of 112.10 points.

That snuffed out China's Beijing dream of a sweep of Olympic diving golds last achieved by the United States, who won every single title from 1928 to 1952.

Nonetheless, China's mastery on the springboard and the platform has reached dizzying heights since Zhou Jihong won the nation's first-ever Olympic diving gold, the women's platform, at the 1984 Los Angeles Games.

Guo Jingjing, eight times world championship gold medalist, retained her three-meter springboard crown to match the feats of her illustrious predecessors Gao Min (1988 and 1992) and Fu Mingxia (1996 and 2000).

Guo, who had already retained the synchronized springboard title with Wu Minxia, then surprised everyone expecting her to announce her retirement by saying she wanted to carry on.

Tiny 15-year-old Chen Ruolin and 16-year-old world champion Wang Xin should have plenty more to offer after spinning to gold and bronze in the women's platform and sharing victory in the synchronised platform.

The platform was perhaps the sweetest victory for China, whose women had not won it at an Olympics since Fu triumphed for the second time in 1996.

Former world champion Emilie Heymans split Chen and Wang, and fellow Canadian former world champion Alexandre Despatie also claimed Olympic silver after a year of injury.

Despatie finished second on the springboard for the second Olympics in succession, this time splitting China's runaway winner He Chong and reigning world champion Qin Kai.

China's supply of potential champions, selected young and trained with systematic intensity, seems endless and the drive for the elusive title sweep will be as powerful as ever in London IN 2012. Who might stop them?

One could be Britain's Tom Daley, European champion two months before he turned 14 and standing proud against his elders in Beijing to finish seventh on the platform.

(Editing by Jeremy Laurence)