News
16/07/2009Here we go
Here we go. The Rome 2009 World Swimming Championships officially begin tomorrow July 17 at the Foro Italico complex. The Men’s 1m Springboard Preliminary is scheduled at 10:00 followed by the final in the afternoon. There are thirty-five divers participating in the competition coming from twenty-five different countries.
Norwegian Timo Klama, born in 1981, will be the first diver to compete. The youngest athlete is Spain’s Sebastian Castañeda Villa, born in 1992 while the “older” is Italian Nicola Marconi, who will be 31 years old in November. Mar-coni, who won a gold medal in the Men’s 1m Springboard at the 2002 European Championships in Berlin, won’t be the only Italian diver to take part in the competition, though. There will be also Christoper Sacchin. So far Sacchin, who was born in Bolzano in 1983, clinched silver in the same discipline at the European Diving Championships in Turin this year.
The favourite for a victory is Chinese Qin Kai, born in 1986. At the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games he secured gold in the Men's 3m Synchronised Springboard with Wang Feng and bronze in the 3m Springboard. Two years ago, at the 12th FINA World Championships in Melbourne, he collected two gold medals in the Men’s 3m Springboard and in the 3m Synchronised Springboard event with Wang Feng. The other strong Chinese competitors will be Xinhua Zhang, 21 years old.
The Men’s 3m Springboard final is scheduled at 17.30. The medal ceremony will take place the following day, on Saturday July 18.
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