Div: Helm leads 10m platform dive qualifying

AAP General News (Australia)
08-28-2004
Div: Helm leads 10m platform dive qualifying

By Janelle Miles

ATHENS, Aug 27 AAP - Mathew Helm is on track to cap Australia's most successful Olympics
in diving with another medal after qualifying first for the semi-finals of the 10m platform
event.

Helm accumulated 513.06 points from the preliminary round of six dives to qualify ahead
of world champion Alexandre Despatie of Canada (500.55) and Olympic champion Tian Liang
of China (481.47).

"I was very happy to start the competition with consistent dives," Helm said.

"It's important for me to maintain that consistency. I'm feeling good. It'd be nice
to finish the week on a high."

Helm collected two perfect 10s on his fifth dive - a reverse three and a half somersault
- scoring 95.88 points.

But Despatie's final dive was the highest scoring of the competition, the last event
of the Olympic diving program.

That dive - a back two and a half somersault with two and a half twists - scored 96.90 points.

Despatie won the world title in Barcelona a year ago ahead of Helm.

Australia already has four bronze and a gold in diving at the Athens Games - more than
the nation's total from all previous Olympics.

Helm won bronze with Robert Newbery in the 10m synchonrised event.

If the 23-year-old can win gold in the individual platform competition, he'll be hailed
as Australia's greatest male diver in history.

Dick Eve won Australia's first Olympic diving title at the 1924 Paris Games in the
plain high dive competition - a discontinued event.

Newbery qualified seventh for the tower semis today, with 461.91 points.

He said the gold medal "could be anybody's".

"We've always had a few surprises in all of the events so far. I think not one of the
finals has finished up the way you think it will from the preliminaries," Newbery said.

"You've just got to keep your head down and do the dives the best you can and see how it goes.

"I'm not going to say anybody at this stage."

The top 18 divers make it through to the semi-final rounds.

The biggest cheers from the crowd during the men's tower were for tiny 14-year-old
Bryan Nickson of Malaysia.

He scored 407.13 points to just miss a semi-final place by less than five points.

Loudy Tourky, who'll take home a bronze from the women's tower, said she hoped the
Australians' performances in Athens would be a springboard for the next generation of
divers.

"We're moving forward now and we're being recognised internationally," she said.

"Now hopefully when we go home, all the other younger divers will follow what we've
done and give them more confidence in themselves knowing that they can do it too."

AAP jhm/nh

KEYWORD: OLY DIV AUST DAYLEAD

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