| Youngster Daley fails in medal bid |
Published By: Mathew White
On Monday 11 August 2008 |
There was no medal for British teenage diving sensation Tom Daley and his partner Blake Aldridge in the men's synchronised 10m platform event at the Water Cube in Beijing.
China's Yue Lin and Liang Huo clinched gold with an outstanding and consistent display in the event - Germany and Russia came second and third respectively.
And for 14-year-old Daley and Aldridge, 26, disappointment seemed likely from the get-go, as they were outclassed by the majority of the competition in nearly every round and finished in eighth, and last.
They scored a total of 408.48 after six dives, way off the leaders China, who finished with 468.18, Germany, 450.42 and Russia with 445.26.
Daley's chances of becoming Britain's youngest-ever medallist were shattered in the third round after a poor entry dive, a recurring flaw which undermined their otherwise good synchronicity.
The pair claimed Britain's first ever gold in the Diving World Series earlier this year, so expectations were perhaps unfairly high, but Daley is being considered as a major potential for the London Games in 2012.
Meanwhile, another highly-ambitious youngster Charlotte Kerwood sought to look to the future after a disappointing performance saw her eliminated at the qualifying stage of the women's trap at the Beijing Shooting Range.
The 21-year-old from Cuckfield never recovered from a poor first round and finished 16th in the 20-athlete field, but she will be taking as many positives from the experience.
She said: "I tried my best and now I am going to take things from this performance - I am going to have a little bit of a break then just work really hard for London."
