Louise Bradley wins first individual gold in Sheffield

Crystal Palace divers took two podium positions in the Elite Girls C Platform event at the ASA National Age Group Diving Championships in Sheffield.

Louise Bradley was the only competitor to score above 300, taking home the gold with 300.20. Her teammate Amelia Connolly received bronze after scoring 284.84.

Holly Waxman of Bradford Esprit – who combined for 3m Synchro gold with Bradley earlier in the meet – finished on 294.55 to split the two for a silver medal.

“It felt really good,” said Bradley. “When people get high scores the dive before you, you feel a bit nervous. But I knew I could go out there and do it.

“The target for me was 300 – I was really hoping I score over that and I did so I’m really pleased.”

Raffa Benitez claims the Elite 1m title

City of Sheffield’s Raffa Benitez finished 22 points clear of the rest of the field in the Elite Boys 1m Final, scoring 338.15 for the gold medal.

Alfie Brown of Star Diving Club followed up with 315.90 for silver while Aidan Heslop of Plymouth Diving took bronze on 300.05.

“It was a good competition,” said Benitez, who combined for 3m Synchro gold with Brown on the opening day in Sheffield.

“I felt like I dived well and did my best. Believe it or not, looking at all the boys, the way they were diving, I knew it was going to be a tough competition. But I just tried my best.

“It was a little bit better than what I was aiming for and I beat my personal best from last year by quite a bit. I am probably performing better than expected. I was hoping to do this well though – everyone hopes to get golds.”

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