Alex Kostov closes in on defence of springboard hat-trick

Alex Kostov closed in on the defence of his golden hat-trick with a pair of titles on the opening day of the 2015 ASA National Age Group Diving Championships at Ponds Forge, Sheffield.

The 16-year old Plymouth diver landed the springboard treble 12 months ago, winning 1m and 3m gold in Group A age group as well as the Group A/B 3m Synchro crown.

And Kostov made light work of retaining the 3m and 3m Synchro titles in Sheffield, scoring 322.55 to claim the former, finishing more than 32 points clear of the field.

“It feels good to win again,” said Kostov. “I was worried because the competition this year is quite tough. It looked pretty tough in training, but it turned out a few others had a bad day.

“I’ve just got a new hurdle and I had to make sure I got that right, which I did on most of them. I feel really confident now. When I win one gold it makes me feel like I can do anything.

“Owen and I won last year and we’ve done harder dives this year but we had some good execution and I’m pretty happy to have won the synchro again.”

Luton’s Henry Biggs was second best on 289.95 for silver while Kostov’s synchro partner Owen Weymouth took bronze on 280.90.

Kostov and Weymouth clear in 3m Synchro

Kostov and Weymouth looked the class act of the 3m Synchro event, scoring 226.71 to clinch gold ahead of Plymouth’s second pair, Connor West and Thomas Grave, on 203.22.

City of Sheffield’s Oliver Hoban and Conrad Lewandowski scored 196.32 to land bronze while their younger teammates Francis Curtis and Joseph Pashley claimed gold in the Group C/D/E2 1m Synchro with a score of 156.66.

Plymouth’s Joshua Hughes and Tommy Davis trailed behind the Sheffield pair on 150.00 for silver while Southend divers Max Lano and Hudson Lawrence took bronze on 147.66.

Finally, Star Diving’s Alfie Brown and City of Sheffield’s Raffa Benitez finished on top in the Elite Group C 3m Synchro.

Brown and Benitez scored 238.17 to beat the combination of Southampton diver Angus Kerr and Southend’s Tyler Humphreys (216.33) and City of Sheffield pairing Adam Charity and Corey Goodinson (196.92).

  • Click here to view full results from the ASA National Age Group Diving Championships 2015.
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