Maria Papworth Burrel seals second national title in impressive comeback

Maria Papworth Burrel won gold in the Women’s 3m Springboard at the British Diving Championships to secure her second national title in as many days.

The Dive London athlete finished second overall, behind Italian guest diver Chiara Pellacani, with a personal best score of 309.30.

That was comfortably enough to earn Papworth Burrel the gold medal, with teammates Grace Reid and Scarlett Mew Jensen winning silver and bronze respectively.

Papworth Burrel was rewarded for her consistency, closing out with three dives of 63.00 points to take a somewhat surprise victory.

The 18-year-old opened with her strongest dive, earning 64.50 points for a superbly executed inward two-and-a-half somersaults.

She was fourth after three rounds, but moved into the lead amongst the British competitors after her penultimate dive.

Papworth Burrel faced stiff competition from Reid, the Commonwealth champion on the 1m, and Mew Jensen, but was composed as she stepped onto the board for the last time.

Signing off with a forward two-and-a-half somersaults with a twist, the youngster racked up her career best score.

That was Papworth Burrel’s second title of the weekend, having teamed up with Mew Jensen to win the Women’s 3m Synchro a day earlier.

Having had a disjointed preparation due to injury, those results have been a pleasant surprise.

Papworth Burrel said: “This is not what I was expecting at all, because I had back injections just before Christmas.

“When I went into surgery, they said I was the youngest patient by 50 years!

“I took my individual dives a week ago. I did all my dives in a week, so I was really stressed out – it wasn’t the preparation we were hoping for.

“But it worked out okay, I guess.”

Mew Jensen falls short

Scarlett Mew Jensen was unable to retain her individual title, but won bronze to seal her fourth consecutive medal in this event.

The Dive London athlete was the British leader after three rounds, before a wobble with her fourth dive proved costly.

Mew Jensen scored 43.50 for her reverse two-and-a-half somersaults.

But she bounced back with her strongest dive to finish – adding 67.50 for a total of 299.10 points.

Mew Jensen – who made her World Championships debut in 2019 – proved her potential in the preliminary round, qualifying in top spot with an impressive score of 315.50.

Youngsters step up in Plymouth

Southampton Diving Academy’s Tilly Brown narrowly missed out on a place in the final after finishing ninth in the preliminary round.

The Swim England Diving Talent Pathway athlete scored 224.65, leaving her less than two points behind City of Sheffield’s Yasmin Harper, who claimed the final berth.

Fellow Team Y athletes Richelle Houlden, Callie Eaglestone and Desharne Bent-Ashmeil all finished inside the top 20.

Women’s 3m Springboard – final

1. Pellacani Chiara (Guest, Italy) – 318.85
2. (1) Maria Papworth Burrel (Dive London Aquatics Club) – 309.30
3. Emma Gullstrand (Guest, Sweden) – 305.10
4. (2) Grace Reid (Dive London Aquatics Club) – 302.25
5. (3) Scarlett Mew Jensen (Dive London Aquatics Club) – 299.10
6. (4) Katherine Torrance (City of Leeds Diving Club) – 289.45
7. (5) Yasmin Harper (City of Sheffield Diving Club) – 271.95
8. (6) Evelyna Johnson (Southampton Diving Academy) – 244.85
9. (7) Amy Rollinson (Luton Diving Club) – 238.65
10. (8) Clara Kerr (Aberdeen Diving Club) – 237.35