England's Tom Daley comfortably defended his 10m platform Commonwealth Games title with a classy performance.
A superb back 3.5 somersault in his penultimate dive virtually ensured gold for the 2012 Olympic bronze medallist.
Ooi Tze Liang of Malaysia won the silver medal with a score of 433.70, while Canada's Vincent Riendeau took the bronze with 429.25.
England's James Denny, who had partnered Daley to silver in the 10m synchronised platform event, was sixth while fellow countryman Matthew Dixon, aged 14, finished ninth.
Tom Daley's senior medal haul |
|
---|---|
Olympics: 2012, bronze |
Commonwealth Games: 2014 gold and silver; 2010, two golds |
World Championships: 2009, gold |
European Championships: 2012, gold; 2008, gold |
Alicia Blagg and Rebecca Gallantree of England were seventh and 10th, while Scotland's Grace Reid came ninth.
Afterwards Daley said his sights were now on the Rio Olympics in 2016. "There's every possibility that I can mix it with the Chinese now," he said.
"I wouldn't mind if I never beat the Chinese until 2016. You've only got to do it once and you've got to do it when it counts.
"Hopefully they'll be able to see that I'm coming to get them."
Daley overcame his problems with his so-called 'demon dive' - a back 2.5 somersault, 2.5 twist routine - which was his second dive of the night, and held the lead from the outset.
He struggled with the dive in the morning preliminaries, and was awarded just 37.8, but after a score of 64.80 in the final he looked comfortable with his subsequent attempts.
"It was a lot better than this morning, I got into it a little bit quicker," Daley told BBC Sport.
"The back twister was better, but still not as great as I wanted it to be. The front four-and-a-half was not as good as it was this morning, but there are still lots of positives and I'm really happy to retain the title."
Another misfire in April meant he missed out on a medal at a World Series event in London, and he has also enlisted the help of a psychologist to address the issue.
Analysis |
---|
"Outstanding from Tom Daley, winning by an absolute
country mile, even with the challenges he had in the prelims. After the
questions he has had about what he's been doing, he has silenced his
critics." |
Tom Daley's former mentor and 2004 Olympic silver medallist Leon Taylor |
Australia's Matthew Mitcham, who had been expected to challenge Daley for the gold, struggled and finished in fourth place with a score of 420.00.
Tiada ulasan:
Catat Ulasan