Randal Willars takes bronze

Mexican Randal Willars won the bronze medal yesterday on the platform at the World Swimming Championships in Singapore, in a final marked by the absence of Chinese athletes on the podium for the first time since 1982.

The gold medal went to Australian Cassiel Rousseau, who accumulated 534.80 points, while the silver went to Ukrainian Oleksii Sereda with 515.30 points. Willars completed the podium with a score of 511.95, after executing a flawless quadruple front somersault in a pike position, with a score of 98.40, the most difficult dive of the competition.

The Chinese team decided not to field Hao Yang, the world champion in Doha, or Yuan Cao, the Olympic champion in Paris, who did compete in the 3-meter springboard and won a silver medal.

Competing in their place were 14-year-old Renjie Zhao and Zifeng Zhu, the winner of the World Cup Super Final.

Zhao and Zhu failed to maintain their top positions. Zhu failed on his fourth attempt, and both fell just short of podium positions in the final round. Zhao was only 1.80 points behind Willars, and Zhu was 4.65, but they couldn't overtake him.

Rousseau, champion at the 2023 World Championships in Fukuoka, Japan, secured his second world title with a final jump that earned him 99.90 points.

Willars's strong performance marked a milestone for Mexico, as it also left China off the podium, which has accumulated nine golds, 10 silvers, and six bronzes in this event since 1982 in Guayaquil.—EFE