- We were in the box seat to win a medal for the final round.
- He moved from third to fifth place in the standings
- Australian leftists devastated by emotional scenes
Anabelle Smith has described how she “screamed underwater” after being responsible for the calamitous final dive that cost her and diving partner Maddison Keeney Australia’s first medal at the Paris Olympics.
Tears flowed after the heartbroken pair produced a stunning fifth and final effort in the women’s 3m synchronised springboard event on Saturday.
It dropped them from third to fifth place, just when they looked set to claim even silver on the opening afternoon of the Games at the Paris Aquatics Centre.
“I don’t know,” Smith shrugged, when asked about the ruling.
“That’s jumping, trying to control our body and turning a lot on an uneven and bouncy board. I had a difficult obstacle and landed on the side of the board, which obviously affects the rest of the jump. It’s a shame.”
Tears flowed after the heartbroken pair produced a stunning fifth and final effort in the women’s 3m synchronised springboard event on Saturday.
It dropped them from third to fifth place, just when they looked set to claim even silver on the opening afternoon of the Games at the Paris Aquatics Centre.
The normally reliable duo, who often claim podium places at major championships, made a mess of their final difficult jump: two and a half somersaults with a pike twist.
Annabelle Smith and Maddison Keeney were in contention for a medal until a disastrous final dive saw them fall from third to fifth place.
That left Smith, 31, in her fourth Games, blaming herself for a slip on the right edge of the backboard.
“Yeah, it was pretty brutal. I can’t change it now so there’s no point in thinking about it anymore,” the Melbourne man said after the tears dried up.
“Really, these things happen. They happen to the best and unfortunately today was my day. However, I must not let it define me. We have done incredible things over these 10 years.”
Asked how his heart sank as he awkwardly took off from the right edge of his board, Smith smiled ruefully: “I screamed underwater. I was hoping the underwater camera wasn’t on. It’s a disappointment, a big disappointment.”
Maddison Keeney supports her teammate who broke down in tears after realising her medal hopes had faded.
Trailing by less than a point behind eventual U.S. silver medalists Sarah Bacon and Kassidy Cook (314.64 points) entering the final round, the Australians, who had produced the second-best dives in the previous two rounds, looked on course to at least match their performance from Rio eight years ago, when they won bronze.
Entering the pool very out of sync, they earned the worst score (48.60 points) of the final round for a final total of 292.20, falling behind Great Britain’s bronze medallists Yasmin Harper and Scarlet Mew Jensen and Italy’s Elena Bertocchi and Chiara Pellacani, who came fourth.
World champions Chang Yani and Chen Yiwen (337.68) from China were once again in a class of their own by taking gold.
Perth-born Keeney, 28, a three-time world champion, and Smith had won silver at the world championships in Doha and were hoping to repeat the feat behind the dominant Chinese pair.
“Maddi and I worked a lot on timing, obviously, and we had a lot of expectations of ourselves and obviously other people as well,” Smith said.
‘Obviously it’s going to affect me a bit after this, but I still have to move on, I’m not dying, so I’m fine.
“I feel bad for letting the team down.”