England's Laugher eases to 1m springboard gold
Englishman retains title, Malaysia rake up three medals on first day of diving
England's Jack Laugher gave a dominant performance to retain his Commonwealth Games 1m springboard title on the Gold Coast yesterday.
Laugher, a Rio Olympic silver medallist on the 3m board, led throughout the six rounds to tally 438.00 points and win gold with some ease. Australia's James Connor took silver with 412.45 and Scotland's James Heatly finished with bronze on 399.25.
"It was difficult to come here as the defending champion," said the 23-year-old Laugher.
"I really knuckled down, got focused - everything went fantastically and I am very proud of what I did."
Laugher's top-scoring dives were 76.50 for an inward 2½ somersaults and his back 2½ somersaults dive which netted 75.00 from the judges.
"My entries were a little bit shaky," said Laugher, who will bid for second gold medal in today's 3m springboard.
It was all over the shop. I don’t think anyone can say they dived well, but we’ve come out the other end... A tough day.Maddison Keeney on crashing from first place to last with a botched final dive
"I put that down to a little bit of nerves, trying to defend the title - also being outdoors. But I'm happy with my display."
Elsewhere, Olympic silver medallists Pandelela Rinong and Cheong Jun Hoong led Malaysia to three medals with victory in the 10m synchro.
They won the event with 328.08 points from Canada's Meaghan Benfeito and Caeli McKay, with fellow Malaysians Leong Mun Yee and Nur Dhabitah Sabri taking the bronze. Leong and Sabri also made the podium in the 3m synchro springboard yesterday.
Esther Qin and Georgia Sheehan snatched gold in the women's 3m synchro after a fellow Aussie pair crashed from first place to last with a botched final dive.
Leaders Maddison Keeney and Anabelle Smith bombed out after a disastrous attempt at a forward 2½ somersaults with two twists scuttled their medal hopes. A tearful Keeney, who lost control of her dive, put a brave face on the mishap.
"It was all over the shop," said the 1m world champion.
"I don't think anyone can say they dived well, but we've come out the other end... A tough day." - AFP
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