Welcome to The Chronicle’s live coverage of the men’s 10-meter platform final round. The events are just getting started in London and we’ll be here providing up-to-the-minute coverage on everything going on here, particularly news related to Nick McCrory.
McCrory was one of the first two Duke divers in program history to qualify for the Olympic Games when he and teammate Abby Johnston made the 2012 United States Olympic Team. McCrory and his partner, David Boudia, won the bronze medal in the men’s synchronized 10-meter platform just two weeks ago.
5:07 p.m.–As the competition comes to a close, Boudia prepares for the medal ceremony, where he will receive his first Olympic gold. McCrory can only play the role of supportive teammate as he appeared to lose focus in the final round, finishing ninth. That’s all we have for today, thank you for tuning in for our live blog coverage and be sure to return to The Blue Zone for more stories about Duke athletics.
5:05 p.m.–McCrory does not win a second Olympic medal today, but has the satisfaction of celebrating with his teammate Boudia, who has won America’s first gold in this event in 24 years. This is Boudia’s second medal of these Olympics, as he and McCrory teamed up to take the bronze medal in the men’s synchronized 10-meter platform as well.
5:03 p.m.–Final totals are now in. Boudia wins with a final total of 568.65. Bo finishes second with 566.85 points, just 1.80 points behind. Daley finishes with a score of 556.95, falling behind due to the lower degree of difficulty on his final dive. Nick McCrory finishes in ninth place with a score of 505.40, just 1.25 points behind Germany’s Martin Wolfram in eighth. Boudia wins platform gold for the USA for the first time since Greg Louganis in the 1988 Games. Not bad for a guy who once could not compete on the 10-meter platform because he was afraid of heights.
4:59 p.m.–Bo with his final dive, and breaks 100 as well, but with 100.80 points, he falls short of American David Boudia. Boudia wins the gold, Bo taking the silver and Daley earns bronze. Nick McCrory finishes in ninth place. Wrap-up with the final totals to follow shortly.
4:56 p.m.–David Boudia once again follows Daley with another beautiful dive. He averages 9.5 from the judges and scores a massive 102.60 points on his dive. That’s the first dive of more than 100 points on the afternoon, and he will best Daley’s total. Now it is just the favorite, China’s Qiu Bo, standing between Boudia and Olympic gold.
4:55 p.m.–Tom Daley approaches for his final dive as a hush falls over the crowd of 17,000-plus. David Beckham is in the crowd and he is loving it. He averages scores of 9.2 from the judges and earns 90.75 points to close the competition. This will put some pressure on both Boudia and Bo.
4:50 p.m.–Nick McCrory closes out his competition at the 2012 Olympic Games with a back 2 1/2 somersault with 2 1/2 twists. This has often been his highest-scoring dive of his program, and will be so again in the final round. He averages scores of 9.0 from the judges, and with a 3.6 degree of difficulty, this dive will earn him 97.20 points. He will finish the competition with 505.40 points, and the 21-year old first-time Olympian must be happy with his performances over the past two weeks.
4:47 p.m.–Though he leads by a slim margin, it appears to be an uphill battle for Tom Daley in this final round. Daley’s final dive will have a degree of difficulty of just 3.3, while both Boudia of the USA and Bo of China will attempt dives with 3.6 degrees of difficulty. Daley will need to be next to perfect if he wants to win gold over competitors with more difficult dives.
4:44 p.m.–As we head into the final round of dives, we will be in for both an exciting and astonishing finish. Qiu Bo of China absolutely dominated the preliminary and semifinal rounds of this competition, but after some minor mistakes and superb diving from Boudia and Daley, this is turning out to be one of the most exciting competitions of these Olympic Games. Three competitors, all of whom will medal, are separated by a mere 0.15 points from first place to third.
4:42 p.m.–Qiu Bo closes out the fifth round with a 94.35, and is now tied with David Boudia for second place with 466.05 points. They both trail Great Britain’s Tom Daley by 0.15 points entering the final round of dives. McCrory moves back up into ninth place with a total score of 408.20 points, and sits close enough to make a run at eighth with a difficult final dive.
4:40 p.m.–Boudia follows Daley with another difficult dive, but only averages scores of 8.5 from the judges. The dive will earn him 91.80 points, but Daley is now edging Boudia out in the standings by a mere 0.15 points heading into the final round. This will be exciting.
4:38 p.m.–The crowd goes wild as Tom Daley continues to energize his hometown fans. Another great dive for Daley, averaging scores of 9.0 from the judges and scoring 97.20 points.
4:36 p.m.–Interesting tidbit from the charming British announcers during McCrory’s previous dive. It turns out that standing at 5-foot-11 (or as the announcers so wittingly put it, 187 cm), McCrory is actually the tallest diver in the final round.
4:35 p.m.–McCrory’s fifth dive is an improvement in what has been a difficult final round for him. He averages scores of 8.5 from the judges and earns 84.15 points toward his score after completing a back 3 1/2 somersault with a 3.3 degree of difficulty.
4:31 p.m.–After four rounds of dives, the gap between third and fourth place continues to grow. Tom Daley of Great Britain leads Jose Antonio Guerra of Cuba by a full 21.00 points. Barring any crucial mistakes, the medal picture in this event is beginning to come more clear, though the order will likely remain undetermined until the final round.
4:29 p.m.–Qiu Bo closes out the fourth round with a dive worth 93.60 points. Boudia continues to lead after three rounds with a 2.55-point advantage over Bo. Daley is in third place while Lin Yue has fallen back to fifth, and it looks as though he may be out of the medal hunt. McCrory slides back into 10th place after four dives, and it appears he will not medal in this event.
4:27 p.m.–China’s Lin Yue makes a rare mistake on his fourth round dive, and it will likely cost him. He scored just 68.45 points on a dive with a 3.7 degree of difficulty, and that will open the door for other competitors to be in the medal hunt.
4:26 p.m.–Tom Daley and David Boudia are beginning to catch fire, each scoring above 90 points on their fourth-round dives. They should be a factor near the top of the standings heading into the end of the competition.
4:22 p.m.–Nick McCrory with his fourth drive of the competition, a reverse 3 1/2 somersault. Averaging a score of 8.0 from the judges, the dive will earn him 79.20 points toward his score. That likely won’t help him move up in the standings.
4:15 p.m.–At the end of the third round, Boudia leads the competition with 283.50 points. Qiu Bo and Lin Yue are second and third, with 278.10 and 277.05 points, respectively. Tom Daley of Great Britain is in fourth place. McCrory has a total of 244.85 points, improving his standing to ninth place.
4:13 p.m.–American David Boudia performs the same dive, a forward 4 1/2 somersault, and knocks it out of the park. On one of the best and most difficult dives of the afternoon, Boudia averages scores of 9.0 from the judges, earning him 99.90 points. This will help solidify him in the medal hunt.
4:08 p.m.–McCrory sees some improvement in his third round, but it might not be the scores he needs. He averages scores of 7.5 on his hardest dive of the competition, earning him 83.25 points. That should improve his standing to at least ninth place after the end of the third round, but we’ll see if his standing continues to rise. The top divers in the competition still to come in the third round.
4:05 p.m.–As the divers begin the third round, Nick McCrory gets set for his third-round dive. It has been his weakest dive in Olympic competition thus far, a forward 4 1/2 somersault with a 3.7 degree of difficulty is the hardest dive on McCrory’s program. He will need to post some good scores on this to get himself back into the middle of the pack.
4:02 p.m.–The second of six rounds draws to a close. Qiu Bo of China takes the lead from his countryman, Lin Yue. Yue sits second, a fraction of a point behind. Boudia and Wolfram are tied for third, Daley is fifth, and Nick McCrory has fallen back to 11th place. Keep in mind that each diver creates their own dive lists in different orders, so many have performed their more difficult dives already, earning higher points for higher degrees of difficulties. McCrory started with his two easiest dive, and has his most difficult dive coming in the third round. He isn’t out of the competition yet by any means, but will need to be on point from here on out.
3:59 p.m.–Martin Wolfram, Tom Daley and David Boudia follow McCrory, each making strong dives. McCrory continues to fall farther down in the standings as the Chinese step to the platform.
3:55 p.m.–McCrory steps up to perform his second round dive, an armstand back double somersault with 1 1/2 twists. He holds his armstand for a long moment at the top before diving into the water. His entry wasn’t as clean as he was looking for. He averages a 7.8 on his scores and earns 75.20 points. Not the score he would have liked on one of his easier dives, with just a 3.2 degree of difficulty.
3:49 p.m.–The first round of dives draws to a close. Boudia and Germany’s Martin Wolfram are tied for the lead with 97.20 points. Great Britain’s Tom Daley sits in third, Chinese teammates Lin Yue and Qiu Bo are tied for fourth and McCrory is in fifth place.
3:46 p.m.–McCrory’s American teammate David Boudia wows the crowd on his first dive, an armstand back double somersault with 2 1/2 twists, earning a bevy of 9.0′s from the judges on a dive with a 3.6 degree of difficulty. He moves into a tie for first with 97.20 points.
3:44 p.m.–In a moment of controversy, local favorite Tom Daley of Great Britain protests his first dive, arguing that flash photography was a distraction. Daley was awarded a rare re-dive, and after scoring 75.60 points on his first attempt improved his score to 91.80 points.
3:38 p.m.–McCrory steps to the platform for his first dive and makes a very clean entry. He performs an inward 3 1/2 somersault with a 3.2 degree of difficulty. McCrory earns all scores of 9.0 or above from the judges, earning 86.40 points. He’s off to a great start.
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