Indy Star
Let the Rio hype begin:
Qui Bo versus David Boudia, Part V.
The two divers affirmed their dominance of the 10-meter platform Sunday in the aquatics World Championships at Kazan, Russia.
Boudia, the former Purdue diver from Noblesville, led through two rounds before securing the silver medal with 560.20 points. Qui, of China, pulled away to win with 587.00.
The two have finished 1-2 at four major championships. Boudia, 26, won gold at the 2012 Olympic Games. He was second to the 22-year-old Qui at the 2011, ’13 and ’15 worlds. They likely will meet again in the 2016 Olympics at Rio de Janeiro.
“This was an exciting competition,” Boudia said in a release from USA Diving. “I didn’t really watch a lot of it, but you can feel the pressure. You can’t miss a dive in those finals. This is not an easy competition.
“Anyone from the finals could be up here. We were just the ones who were on top of our game today.”
Boudia had finished second in preliminaries and fifth in the semifinals Saturday. Scores start anew in each round.
He changed his dive order in the finals, opening with an armstand that earned 99.00 and thrust him into the lead. He followed with an inward 3 ½ tuck that earned 92.5 and kept him in first. He scored 91.8 or more on five of his six dives.
“For me, I switched my order to start off with one of my strongest dives, and it paid off,” Boudia said. “It set me up from there. It was a good final. Overall, this competition was exactly what I was looking for.”
Great Britain’s Tom Daley won the bronze medal with 537.95.
With pool competition completed, Team USA finished with two medals: Boudia’s silver and a bronze by Indiana University’s Michael Hixon on 1-meter, which is not an Olympic event.
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