Gold medalists Cao Yuan and Yanquan Zhang from China compete during the Men's Synchronized 10 Meter Platform Diving final at the Aquatics Centre in the Olympic Park during the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, Monday, July 30, 2012. (AP Photo/Michael Sohn) (AP2012)
China extended its diving dominance with a victory in the men's 10-meter synchronized platform Monday, giving the country its second gold medal on the boards at the London Olympics.
Cao Yuan and Zhang Yanquan totaled 486.78 points in the six-dive final, spoiling the gold-medal hopes of Brits Tom Daley and Peter Waterfield, who were shut out.
German Sanchez and Ivan Garcia of Mexico had the highest degree of difficulty in the competition and it paid off with the silver. They scored 468.90.
Nick McCrory and David Boudia of the U.S. took the bronze with 463.47. The Americans are 2-for-2 after Abby Johnston and Kelci Bryant earned a silver in 3-meter synchro springboard Sunday, ending a 12-year medal drought.
Daley and Waterfield led through the first three rounds, but botched their fourth dive and dropped to fourth, where they eventually finished with 454.65. They could have given the host country its first gold of the games, which Daley had said was his goal, but they couldn't recover from their error.
The crowd, so raucous before the competition and through the early rounds, gasped when Daley and Waterfield missed on a reverse 3 1/2 somersault tuck.
Both men were out of sync in opposite directions and resembled a V entering the water instead of being in vertical positions. Their mistake allowed the Chinese to regain the lead for good.
Yuan and Zhang were tied with the Brits after the first round, and stayed close behind in the early going. The Chinese didn't have the same high degree of difficulty as the Mexicans, and the Brits and Americans tossed in tougher dives than Yuan and Zhang.
But the Chinese were solid, earning four perfect 10.0s for synchronization in the round. Daley and Waterfield earned the only other 10.
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