Paola Espinosa, world champion and silver medallist in the 2010 FINA / Li-Ning Diving World Series, has no rival for now at home; so her scores are well above other participants'. The “Mexican Princess” delighted the audience with dives of high level of difficulty showing a good competition level, as she was “dancing” in the air.
She will also compete in the Diving World Cup in the 1m and 3m springboard events, 10m platform and 10m synchro platform. In the latter event, she will pair with new partner Karla Rivas, who replaced Tatiana Ortiz, who said "goodbye" to diving after winning the bronze medal at the Beijing 2008 Olympics.
Speaking on the partner change, Espinosa expressed confidence: "I am happy to have a new partner in the 10m synchro platform; to have more medals to fight for in another trial and happy because my coach Ma Jin has done a great job with Rivas Karla and me. Although I have little time training with Karla, we know that there is a lot to do and how important it is that we make a good start in Mexico."
Other faces of the women’s Mexican team in the Diving World Cup will be: Arantxa Chavez, a young woman with a great future and Laura Sanchez, who returns to the international experience of diving after recovering from an injury and a right shoulder surgery.
The Mexican men's team is led by talented Yahel Castillo, who is qualified for the Diving World Cup in the 1m and 3m springboard and 3m springboard synchro (with Osiris Argote) events.
Reflecting on his country's status in the discipline, Yahel Castillo commented: "More people are qualifying well: this is good for us. Mexico has a long tradition in diving at the international level and there are people with experience and new talents, which makes us a stronger team."
Among the new talents is to be found German Sanchez, who won the title of the best specialist in the 10m platform in Mexico. He surprised with his degree of difficulty and accuracy in breaking the mirror of water. In addition, Rommel Pacheco used his experience to return to the national team after recovering well from a shoulder injury and finished second in the 10m platform event.
Those who will also wear the colours of Mexico at the Diving World Cup are the following: Jahir Ocampo, Daniel Islas, Iván García (selected for the Youth Olympic Games, in Singapore) and Osiris Argote.