Olympic Diving 2012: Predicting Results for Men's 3-Meter Springboard Final

The sixth set of medals will be handed out to Olympic divers following the final of the men’s 3-meter springboard at the 2012 London Olympics.

The two rounds leading up to the final have already seen movement at the top of the leaderboard, with Ilya Zakharov of Russia leading after the preliminary round and He Chong of China leading after the semifinals.

Although China currently has two divers atop the leaderboard heading into the final, competitors such as Troy Dumais of the United States, Yahel Castillo of Mexico, Alexandre Despatie of Canada, Chris Mears of Great Britain and Patrick Hausding of Germany will all be fighting to be one of the three divers standing on the podium during the medal ceremony.

But which three will add to their country’s medal count?

Here are predictions for the men’s 3-meter springboard final.

Runner-Up: Alexandre Despatie, Canada

Despatie currently sits in eighth place with a score of 472.80 after the semifinals.

However, the recipient of Canada’s first men’s diving medal cannot be counted out as he heads into the 3-meter springboard final.

Despatie already has two silver medals in the 3-meter springboard to his name from the past two Olympic Games, but a gold has eluded him in the event.

Despatie suffered a concussion in June while practicing for the Olympic Games, but was able to return to training and not miss another chance at gold for Canada.  The injury came after Despatie missed the 2011 season with a knee injury.

Despatie’s highest score in the semifinals came on a reverse 2.5 somersault with 1.5 twist dive.

In his fourth Olympic Games, Despatie’s eighth-place standing heading into the final will be improved upon, but a medal will not be coming his way.

Runner-Up: Troy Dumais, United States

Dumais won his first Olympic medal in the men’s synchronized 3-meter springboard at the 2012 London Games, but he has yet to win a medal individually in the event.

Despite putting himself on the verge of standing on the podium following this year’s finals, the competition in front of him will cause him to just miss out in his fourth Olympic appearance.

However, he will still have a chance to have his best career finish in the event, as he previously had four sixth-place finishes.

Dumais is currently in fifth heading into the finals, after grabbing a score of 490.55 in the semifinals.  This included high marks on his forward 2.5 somersault with two twists dive to conclude his semifinal round.

Dumais will be battling it out for a medal when he hits the water in the 3-meter springboard final, but a runner-up finish in the event will be his best result next to his earlier bronze medal at the Games.

Bronze Medal: Ilya Zakharov, Russia

Zakharov has already hit the water against two of his biggest competitors in the men’s synchronized 3-meter springboard, in which his silver medal and second-place finish placed him in-between Dumais, the bronze-medal winner, and Qin, the gold-medal winner.

Now, in the individual 3-meter springboard, he will once again have to post higher scores than these two competitors in order to win his second medal at this year’s Games.

Zakharov led the event after the preliminary round, and is currently second following the semifinals.

His score of 507.65 after the preliminary round included high marks on his forward 4.5 somersault dive, while he received even higher marks on the dive on his way to a score of 505.60 in the semifinals.

Zakharov may have the best chance of preventing China’s two dominant divers from taking first and second in the 3-meter springboard final.  But with the way Qin and He dove leading up to the Olympics, as well as in London, a bronze medal will be his result after the final.

Silver Medal: Qin Kai, China

Qin has already won a gold medal at the Olympic Games this year, and has put himself in a great position to medal again in the 3-meter springboard event.

However, he must hold off a list of competitors to do so.

Qin’s list of accomplishments in diving further makes him one of the top competitors heading into the final.  He has already competed directly against Zakharov of Russia at the 2011 World Championships, and was able to beat both Zakharov and Dumais for the gold medal in the men’s synchronized 3-meter.

Qin enters the final with a score of 500.35 from the semifinals, which included a high score on his forward 4.5 somersault.

Qin will have to hold off Zakharov once again in order to win silver, and must beat He for a chance at the gold.

With He’s scores following the preliminary and semifinal rounds, Qin will take the silver medal.

Gold Medal: He Chong, China

The reigning gold-medal winner in the 3-meter springboard, He will continue with his success in the event by winning gold once again at this year’s Olympic Games.

He has also won gold in the event at both the 2009 and 2011 World Championships.

He is currently in first place heading into the final, after finishing with a score of 510.15 following the semifinals.  He received high scores in both his inward 3.5 somersault, as well as his forward 4.5 somersault dives.

He was in second place behind Zakharov after the preliminary round, where he had a score of 500.90.

He will look to continue China’s success in diving events while he defends his gold medal in the 3-meter springboard.

Based on his results leading into the final, he is about to accomplish both feats.