Chris Mears through to Olympic diving final

Published 7 Aug 2012 11:35 1 Comment

OLYMPIC diver Chris Mears has made it through to the men's 3m springboard final.

The Burghfield Common teenager was the only Briton to make it into this morning's semi-final and rose to the occasion by putting on a stunning display at the Aquatics Centre in London.

The 19-year-old, who was one of 18 divers to qualify from last night's preliminary round, will compete against 12 other divers in tonight's final at 7pm.

There was a huge roar from the packed home crowd every time Chris appeared on the diving board, with his family - including mum Katy and dad Paul - proudly holding up "10" signs following every drive.

The former Willink School pupil started solidly and managed to push himself into the top 12 with his penultimate dive.

He made sure of his place in the final with an outstanding last dive, a four-and-a-half forward somersault which gained him a whopping 91.20 points.

Chris finished in 9th with 461 points - a personal best.

Mears beamed: "That was the best performance of my life in front of a home crowd just when it mattered and now I can say that I'm an Olympic finalist.

"I can't quite believe it to be honest, I've come a long way and since 2009 I've had a hard time but to stand up there representing my country and produce a performance like that is amazing."

After five solid rounds Mears' dive, a tricky front four-and-a-half somersault with tuck, propelled him into the top 10 and according to the Brit it is a dive which is there to do exactly that.

"That dive is there to do a job and it's either make or break, it's a high tariff dive and it's there to boost me up. Luckily today it came off because otherwise I could have looked like a bit of an idiot if it didn't!"

The final will take place at 7pm this evening at the Aquatics Centre, where Mears will be looking to replicate his fantastic performance.

It follows a sterling performance by Chris on Wednesday when he came fifth with diving partner Nick Robinson-Baker in the men's 3m synchronised springboard final - equalling the highest every Olympic finish by a British pair.

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This article appeared in Local Berkshire 07 Aug 12

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  Niloc
  Unregistered User
  Aug 7, 12:59
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  Fantastic performance and a so well deserved place in the finals as a result. Keep on going Chris, you have done Reading/Burghfield proud. You have stiff competition tonight, but I am sure you will rise to the challenge.
  
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