British divers ready for Shanghai test
21 June 2011
World Champion Tom Daley and Olympic silver medallist Pete Waterfield will lead the British Gas GBR Diving Team into competition at the World Championships in Shanghai this summer.
The 11 athletes will take on the best in the world as they try to qualify places for the country at the 2012 Olympic Games in London.
Daley and Waterfield will feature in both men’s Platform events and will face a tough challenge from world number one diving nation, China, who will be competing on home soil. But after beating the Chinese pair in Sheffield at the FINA/Midea Diving World Series the Brits will go into the event with confidence.
British 3m Springboard Champion Jack Laugher will compete in his first World Championships having won double gold at the FINA World Junior Championships in 2010. The 16-year old has spent 2011 making his mark on the senior circuit but insists he is ready for the step-up in China.
“I am really excited about going to Worlds,” Laugher said. “It is such a great feeling to know that I will be competing in such a high calibre event. I have worked really hard to get onto the team and this year I have improved on all of my performances.
“I am still quite a young springboard diver so I just want to go to Shanghai and try my best – that’s all I can ask for. I want to learn as much as I can before next year so this trip is going to be about gaining knowledge and experience of competing against the best in the world. I think it is going to be really invaluable to get such a big event under my belt before next year too.
“The best athletes in Springboard are He Chong and Qin Kai and I do really look up to those guys. I can’t wait to see them compete and see the way they prepare. This competition will be the biggest of my career so far and I am going to enjoy every moment of it.”
Tonia Couch is one of the most experienced female divers on the team and after winning the national title in Leeds she will be aiming for consistency to her performance in Shanghai. She finished eighth in the 10m Platform final at the 2009 World Championships in Rome and will be eager to show how far she has come since then.
Other debutantes in the squad include Jenny Cowen, Alicia Blagg and Hannah Starling, all of whom will be keen to learn from the experienced divers on the team.
The British Gas GBR Diving Team
| Name | Club |
|---|---|
| Thomas Daley | Plymouth Diving |
| Jack Laugher | City of Leeds |
| Chris Mears | Southampton Diving |
| Nick Robinson-Baker | City of Sheffield |
| Peter Waterfield | Southampton Diving |
| Sarah Barrow | City of Leeds |
| Alicia Blagg | City of Leeds |
| Tonia Couch | Plymouth Diving |
| Jenny Cowen | City of Leeds |
| Rebecca Gallantree | City of Leeds |
| Hannah Starling | City of Leeds |
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