Against the odds that all the last four winners younger than 16-year-old, the 19-year-old defending champion Si Yajie of China became the eldest champion and proved she is still the best in the women's 10m platform at the Asian Games in Jakarta on Thursday.
Si, 2013 world champion and runner-up in the Rio Olympic Games and 2017 World Championships, placed second behind 14-year-old teammate Zhang Jiaqi but took the lead after her third dive 5253B back 2 1/2 somersaults 1 1/2 twists with 81.60 points.
After her consistent six dives, Si collected a total of 405.45 to retain the title and break the age-barrier of the event since the last four winners of the women's 10m platform were all younger than 16-year-old, Lao Lishi at 14 in 2002, Wang Xin 14 in 2006, Hu Yadan 14 in 2010 and herself Si Yajie 15 in 2014.
"It was a hard battle that I was under great pressure before the competition. I qualified for the berth against my teammate, Olympic champion Ren Qian the last day in Beijing before we came to Jakarta. I beat Ren for better weight-control and better performance since both of us are higher and heavier than before," revealed Si, who earned the last-minute ticket to Asian Games after three qualifiers since May.
"I concentrated on my dives instead of the score board during the final. I did not know the other rivals but myself. I have no idea that I become the first champion older than 16 of the event in recent Asian Games. The younger ones have enjoyed the better entry effects, but I really need to improve my entry techniques," Si said.
Zhang Jiaqi, synchro winner on the 10m platform with Zhang Minjie in Jakarta and top qualifier in the preliminary, snatched the silver medal in 395.30 and two DPR Korean divers Kim Mi Rae and Kim Kuk Hyang had a three-four finish.
China has swept 12 gold medals in the event from 1974-2018.
