China’s Chen Yiwen and Chang Yani took gold and silver in the women’s 3m final on Friday with identical dives in the identical order, in an exact replica of their 2022 dive list. This time, Chen defended her gold and Chang upgraded her bronze to silver, 18 points behind her older teammate.
Chen Yiwen’s attempt to defend her 2022 world title in women’s 3m springboard wasn’t always comfortable. In Friday night’s final, the lead changed three times in the first three rounds until Chen held onto first place.
The silver medalist, Chang Yani, was also a bit off her game. She found herself in third position twice before she locked into the No. 2 spot.
Canada’s Pamela Ware claimed the bronze, 9.5 points behind the silver medalist and 10 years after her last world medal in the women’s 3m (also a bronze).
Afterwards, all three divers expressed happiness and relief.
Chen, 24, said of her second consecutive 3m title, “Amazing.”
After Chen’s first dive (an inward 2½) put her in a three-way tie for fourth, she said, “I tried to find my way back. I was thinking too much. I’m scared a little bit about basically everything – trying to win too hard. I think this is the problem.
“I always wanted to have over 400 points in world championships or the Olympics,” Chen said. “I never did that before.” Alas, she will have to wait until next year. Chen winning score on Friday was 359.50.
"I was thinking too much. I’m scared a little bit about basically everything – trying to win too hard. I think this is the problem."
Chang, 21, the silver medalist, said that while second place “gives me confidence in my accumulated effort, I have many points to be improved. Performing at my usual level in competition is essential. I would like to stand in the highest place on the winners’ podium. I’ll practice my best.”
For Ware, 30, the bronze was perhaps even more satisfying. “It feels great to get my hands on a medal in this competition,” she said. “I believe I also dove great during the 1-meter event a few days ago despite placing fourth. I am so proud of what I was able to accomplish in both events.
“The medal today shows the sheer amount of work I have put into this sport during the last 23 years. Honestly, this was a long time coming. I took a year off after my failed dive in the [Tokyo] Olympics. I was really traumatized by the whole experience.
“But my mindset is that the past is ancient history, gone with the wind,” Ware said. “I can finally stand on the board with a renewed level of calmness and confidence. I am so glad to be back. I am just speechless with the results.”
Japan’s Sayaka Mikami tried to give the host nation its second diving medal of the week and was one of two women to throw the hardest dive of the night, a forward 2½ with 2 twists (with a 3.4 degree of difficulty). It didn’t pay off for Mikami who placed seventh. It worked much better for Maddison Keeney of Australia, the 2019 world bronze medalist. Keeney threw it in the final round and it enabled her to advance from sixth place to fourth, less than five points off the podium.
Looking Ahead to Day 8
Diving concludes on Saturday with two more finals at the Fukuoka Prefecture Pool: mixed 3m synchro and men’s 10m platform. Find out if China will sweep all 13 diving gold medals awarded at the World Aquatics Championships for the second consecutive year.
Diving fans should also come back next Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday when the best high divers in the world compete outdoors on the 20m (women’s) and 27m (men’s) tower at Seaside Momochi Beach Park. The last time high diving was contested at the world championships was 2019 and the dives have grown considerably harder since then.