Auffret takes platform crown to France for the first time in history
Kiev (LEN) รขโฌโ What a finish: just as they had started on the first competition day, the 2017 European Diving Championships in Kiev also ended with a French triumph. Showing a great performance honoured by the judges with high scores and a total of 511.75 points, Benjamin Auffret not only crowned himself as the รขโฌลplatform king of Kievรขโฌย and won his first European title, but achieved the first ever platform gold in history. After a close fight Russiaรขโฌโขs Viktor Minibev earned silver with 493.25 points, the bronze medal went to Briton Matthew Lee (485.55). The other title on offer on the last day landed in Russia, thanks to Nadezhda Bazhina and Kristina Ilinykh who earned a clear win in the womenรขโฌโขs 3m synchro event.
รขโฌลI donรขโฌโขt know what to say. I competed really well today and Iรขโฌโขm definitely in a good mood for the World Championships now,รขโฌย French king of platform Auffret said. รขโฌลPerhaps it was an advantage for me today that during the week I didnรขโฌโขt have to compete in as many competitions as my opponents.รขโฌย
In the womenรขโฌโขs 3m synchronised event Russiaรขโฌโขs Nadezhda Bazhina and Kristina Ilinykh became undisputed new champions, after the reign of eight-time winners Tania-Cagnotto-Francesca Dallapรยจ (Italy) had come to an end as both retired. The Russian duo earned a total of 304.80 points and built a huge 20-point gap ahead of the rest. After a tough battle for the remaining medals Germanyรขโฌโขs Tina Punzel with new partner Friederike Freyer won silver (284.10). Only 0.30 points apart, Dutch Inge Jansen and Daphne Wils (283.80) followed ranked third, relegating Great Britainรขโฌโขs Katherine Torrence and Grace Reid (283.50) by another 0.30 points to the fourth place. It was the first ever medal in this event for the Netherlands.
รขโฌลFrom my point of view this was a well-deserved gold medal today. We have worked hard to make this happen,รขโฌย Russiaรขโฌโขs Bazhina said and partner Kristina Ilinykh added happily: รขโฌลThis was my first ever European gold medal.รขโฌย Germanyรขโฌโขs Tina Punzel felt รขโฌลvery relievedรขโฌย after the duo finished runner-up. รขโฌลWe didnรขโฌโขt show our best performance today. But, after all, now we have a medal.รขโฌย Inge Jansen was positively surprised how fast the new partnership with Daphne Wils paid off. รขโฌลAfter just three months of diving together, itรขโฌโขs amazing that we could win a medal here in Kiev.รขโฌย
Host Ukraine (244 points) won the รขโฌลChampionships Trophyรขโฌย ahead of Russia (242) and Germany (185). In the medal table Russia came first with three gold, six silver and two bronze, ahead of Ukraine (3-4-3) and Great Britain (3-0-3). Altogether eight of the participating 23 nations clinched medals, among them Switzerland with their first ever podium finish in the history of European Diving Championships.
The City of Kiev and the Ukrainian Diving Federation celebrated great championships at the LIKO Sports Center. The capital of Ukraine hosted an elite European Championships for the first time. รขโฌลThese Europeans here in Kiev were a promotion for divingรขโฌย, LEN Vice-President Andriy Vlaskov summed up the week. รขโฌลWe had sold-out days in succession, the audience was thrilled, the athletes were happy. This was certainly one of the best European Championships ever.รขโฌย Earlier this week Kievรขโฌโขs mayor and former World Champion in boxing, Vitaly Klichko concluded: รขโฌลMy mission as mayor is to host as many sports and cultural events as we can. It is a great chance to promote the city.รขโฌย
The next diving continental showcase will be staged from August 6-12, 2018 at the รขโฌลRoyal Commonwealth Poolรขโฌย in Edinburgh (GBR) as part of the grand European Aquatics Championships.
Medal table (after 13 of 13 competitions)
| Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
|---|---|---|---|
| Russia | 3 | 6 | 2 |
| Ukraine | 3 | 4 | 3 |
| Great Br. | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| France | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| Italy | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| Germany | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Switzerland | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Netherlands | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Press release from LEN, images courtesy of Deepbluemedia/Giorgio Scala
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