Double bubble for Crystal Palace in Girls C 1m

Crystal Palace Diving Club had two divers on the podium in the Girls C 1m Springboard event on day three of the Swim England Diving National Age Group Champs.

Desharne Bent-Ashmeil secured a gold medal for her club. After her fourth dive, she was sitting in second place. She maintained consistency in her final two dives and finished in first place, with a score of 218.90.

Bent-Ashmeil commented on her performance: “Winning this medal has inspired me to want to do more. I wasn’t sure whether or not I was going to get a medal, but as each round went on I got more confident.

“I’ve not done a national championships before, so I was a bit nervous. But it’s just like any other competition really, you just have to perform and do your best.”

Club mate Sofia Ostacchini won silver with a score of 202.30 and Southampton Diving Academy’s Milly Batten took the final spot on the podium with her score of 200.60.

Two podium places for Sheffield in Girls’ D 3m Springboard

It was a City of Sheffield one-two in the Girls’ D 3m Springboard event, with Jenna Davison and Maisie Bond taking gold and silver respectively.

Davison was the most consistent diver of the event, breaking 40 points in two of her dives. She finished the final round with 190.50. Her team mate Maisie Bond, who won gold in the Girls’ Group D 1m event, claimed silver with 179.25.

The bronze medal went to Freya Kelly of Star Diving Club for her score of 175.20. This was Kelly’s second medal of the competition.

West leaves competition behind in Boys’ A Platform

Plymouth Diving’s Connor West was the dominant force in the Boys’ A Platform event. West took an early lead and managed to keep widening the gap as each round passed. His final dive, the forward two and a half somersaults with one twist impressed the judges, scoring him 62.35. He finished with a score of 322.55, a full 27 points ahead of Ollie Breach from Albatross Diving Club.

West commented: “It feels amazing to get gold, I don’t really know how to describe it. It’s just that realisation that all the hard work you’ve done in training has paid off. It’s amazing to get two medals in two events. I’ve got the 3m tomorrow…maybe I’ll get a silver tomorrow and come away with all three.

“I’ve been practising my whole list. That final dive is my favourite, I really enjoy dives with a twist.”

Second place went to Breach with 295.55 and third place to William Osbourne of Southampton Diving Academy with 280.30.

Blower outclasses competition in Girls’ A Platform

Olivia Blower was in a league of her own in the Girls’ A Platform event. The Cambridge diver was over 50 points ahead of the other English divers. She almost broke 60 with her inward three and a half somersaults tucked, finishing with 305.05 overall.

Second place went to Charlotte West of Albatross Diving Club with 254.55 and bronze to Francesca Doran of Dive London Aquatics Centre, who scored 247.35.

Click here to view full results from the Swim England Diving National Age Group Championships.