China’s winning streak in diving continued on Monday at the 2023 World Aquatics Championships - Fukuoka. Chang Yani and Chen Yiwen won their second consecutive world title in women’s synchro 3m, and Lian Junjie and Yang Hao repeated their 2022 world victories in men’s synchro 10m. China is now a perfect 7-0 in Japan with six events remaining.

In addition, every nation that made the podium on Day 3 earned Olympic berths for Paris 2024 in their respective events.

In women’s synchro 3m, that meant China qualified for the Games, as did Great Britain (thanks to Yasmin Harper and Scarlett Mew Jensen), and – by a fraction of a point – Italy, represented by Elena Bertocchi and Chiara Pellacani

In men’s synchro 10m, China, Ukraine, and Mexico went 1-2-3 to secure their places in Paris. Lian and Yang scored 14 perfect 10s en route to victory, but Ukrainian silver medalists Kirill Boliukh, 16, and Oleksii Sereda, 17, firmly established themselves as future threats to capture gold. Third-place finishers Kevin Berlin Reyes and Randal Valdez Willars added medal No. 4 for Mexico, which means that Mexico now has more medals here than any other nation besides China.

Here’s how the competitions unfolded.

Men’s Synchro 10m

Despite all the 10’s that China’s Lian and Yang earned to score 477.75 points and win back-to-back world championship gold in men’s 10m synchro, flaws were evident.

“We do this event often so I have confidence,” said Lian, 22. “But I am not completely satisfied with today's performance” specifically with the way he hit the water.

Ukraine’s Boliukh, 16, and Sereda, 17, were ready to capitalize. They finished second, 38.43 points behind China for second place and clearly established themselves as a future force. The teenagers nearly matched China’s high single-dive score on their fifth and most difficult dive, a forward 4½, known as a 109C. Ukraine earned 97.68 points for it, just 1.11 points less than China’s score for the same maneuver.

“I was not surprised to find that the Ukraine team got the silver medal,” Yang, 25, said. “When we face them as competitor[s], we should have a sense of crisis. I have seen them be very competitive at previous competitions.”

Just seven months ago, Boliukh was sweeping individual gold on 3m and 10m boards at the junior world championships in Montreal, Canada. Last year, Sereda won 10m gold at the 2022 European Championships.

Their performance on Monday qualified Ukraine for a place in men’s synchro 10m at the 20204 Olympics. Asked how they had prepared for Fukuoka, Sereda said, “Due to the war, we don't have the strongest program compared to the other athletes. We did most of our training in our pool in Kyiv. We always need to take shelter in a safe location when we are under the threat of air raids. The air raid sirens greatly hinder our ability to sleep. This is what everyday life is like during a war.

“My mom, Kirill’s mom, all of our families are watching from back home.  I would like to tell my mother, my father, and my sister that I miss you and that I really love you. Thank you so much for everything you have ever done for me.”

Mexico’s Berlin Reyes, 22, and Willars Valdez, 21, earned the bronze, nearly 15 points ahead of the 2022 world championship silver medalists, Matthew Lee and Noah Williams of Great Britain, who finished fourth. It was Berlin Reyes’ and Willars Valdez’s first world championship medal – and the fourth medal at these world championships for a young and talented Mexican team.

Women’s Synchro 3m

Earlier in the day, Chang, 21, and Chen, 24, defended their world title in the women’s 3m synchro event, scoring 341.94 points to give China a 12-peat at this event which means that China hasn’t been beaten in this discipline since 1998.

Contrary to appearances, Chen said, “It was not easy for us. We have practiced so hard,” and explained that “China team is strong because we get a big support from coaches. They encourage us a lot for many years.”

“To get the best result for a [synchro] event, we have to trust and encourage each other,” Chang added.

Great Britain’s Harper and Mew Jensen were in second place after each of the five dives. Their consistency resulted in a silver medal, 45.36 points behind China. The race for the bronze came down to the final dive.

“We had nothing to lose,” Harper said. “We were just going for it!”

“The best adjustment that we made was just to relax,” Mew Jensen said. “I felt like this is the most relaxed I have ever been. I'm really committed to being calm on the board.”

When Monday’s final ended, only 1.77 points separated third, fourth, and fifth place.

After each of the first four dives, the US duo of Sarah Bacon and Kassidy Cook were firmly ensconced in third place, but on their last dive, a forward 2½ with 1 twist (with a 3.0 DD, not the most difficult on their list), their execution scores were a disparate 4.5 to 7.0 and the split was enough to drop them into fourth place, just sixth tenths of a point behind Italy’s Bertocchi and Pellacani. Instead, Italy claimed the bronze medal and, with it, a berth in women’s synchro 3m at the 2024 Paris Olympics.  (China and Great Britain also qualified.)

“This medal was very unexpected,” said Pellacani also partnered with Bertocchi at the Tokyo Olympics. “The [US divers] are both really good divers.”

“But this is our sport,” Bertocchi said. “One day you win, and one day you lost.”

Canada’s Mia Vallee, 22, and Pamela Ware, 30, placed fifth. Aside from the Chinese pair, Ware was the only woman in the field who had previously earned a world medal in this event (2013 bronze and 2015 silver).

Looking Ahead to Day 4

The only final on Tuesday will be the non-Olympic team event. Teams comprise at least one woman and one man from the same nation (but no more than four divers per country). Each team will perform six dives: three on 3m and three on 10m.

On each board, one dive must be made by a man, one by a woman, and one synchro mixed. The highest cumulative score will determine the winner among the 14 teams entered.  The event was first held at the 2015 FINA World Championships in Kazan, Russia. China has won the last two gold medals.