Olympic dream over for diving finalist Chris Mears
Published 7 Aug 2012 20:20
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DIVER Chris Mears proved he was far from being out of place on the Olympic stage tonight during the men's 3m springboard final.
The 19-year-old underdog was up against 11 world class divers at London's Aquatics Centre and finished ninth, with a score of 439.75 points from his six dives - 84.4 behind the medal places.
The gold medal went to Russian Ilya Zakharov with 555.90 but it was Chris who won the biggest cheer of the night from the vocal home support with his his final dive.
Chris, from Burghfield Common, beamed with delight as the judges awarded him a mammoth 100.70 points for a forward four-and-a-half somersault, proving he has a bright future ahead of him.
He was the only Team GB diver to make the final, having registered an impressive personal best of 461 this morning during the semi-final.
Last week, Chris and his diving partner Nick Robinson-Baker competed in the final of the men's 3m synchronised springboard when they finished fifth and equalled the best ever Olympic performance by a British pair.
His appearance at London 2012 comes just three years after a ruptured spleen left him on the brink of death.
Chris, a fomer Garland Junior School pupil, collapsed in Sydney the day after performing in the Youth Olympic Festival.
He was misdiagnosed with meningitis but after losing five pints of blood had to have his spleen removed.
The youngster was found to have contracted the Epstein Barr virus and spent a month in an Australian hospital.
This article appeared in Local Berkshire 07 Aug 12
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