Alexander Dobroskok already has two gold medals at the World Swimming Championships. And he has teammate Dimity Sautin to thank for both.
Dobroskok took his second gold in Tuesday's 3m springboard, taking advantage when Sautin -- who had been leading through the first five dives -- erred on his sixth and final effort.
Dobroskok and Sautin won a gold together in the 3m synchronized springboard on the first day of the championships on Sunday.
PHOTO: AFP
Dobroskok scored 788.37 points. China's Peg Bo took the silver with 780.84 followed by Satin with 776.64.
Through six events, Russia has three gold medals and three bronze and leads with six overall. Three other countries have three golds -- Australia, China and Italy.
Eight days of swimming in the main pool begin Sunday.
In women's preliminary water polo games on Tuesday -- Group A: Canada 7, Brazil 2; Australia 16, Britain 2. Group B: Russia 23, Venezuela 4; Netherlands 15, Japan 3. C: US 15, France 3; Germany 10, Greece 8; Group D: Hungary 11, Italy 10; Spain 7, Kazakhstan 4.
Three medal events were set for yesterday: women's 10m platform diving, and 10km open-water for men and women.
Away from the competition, two teams with vastly different goals -- the Netherlands and Iraq -- assessed their chances.
"Our expectations are high," said Dutch coach Andre Cats. "We have no injuries and everyone's in good shape."
The Dutch have two of the world's best sprinters in Pieta van den Hoogenband and Inge de Bruijn.
Van den Hoogenband won two golds at the 2000 Olympics -- 100 and 200 freestyle. But he's more motivated by his failings at the 2001 worlds in Fukuoka, Japan.
Two years ago, Van den Hoogenband finished second in four freestyle events.
"The last time I ended up with a lot of silvers," he said. "This time I want gold. I'm fitter than ever before."
Iraq's three-man swim team trained Tuesday for the fourth straight day.
That's possibly the most intense practice period in a year for Sarmad Mohamad, Zaid Saeed and Mohammed Abbas.
Finding a place to train in Iraq has been hopeless -- during the war, after the war -- and even before the war.
When American troops began occupying Baghdad in early April, Saeed said looters tore up Baghdad's only Olympic 50m pool.
"No bombs hit it," he said. "Really there wasn't anything to take from the swimming pool, but they took chairs, tables, broke the windows. They wanted to destroy anything."
Tallon Griekspoor on Friday stunned top seed Alexander Zverev 4-6, 7-6 (7/5), 7-6 (7/4) in the second round at Indian Wells, avenging a devastating loss to the German at Roland Garros last year. Zverev, the world No. 2 who is heading the field of the prestigious ATP Masters event with No. 1 Jannik Sinner serving a three-month drugs ban, is the first Indian Wells men’s top seed to lose his opening match since Andy Murray in 2017. It was a cherished win for Griekspoor, who had lost five straight matches — including four last year — to the German. That included a five-setter
Donovan Mitchell on Wednesday scored 26 points as the Cleveland Cavaliers punched their ticket to the NBA playoffs with a hard-fought 112-107 victory over the Miami Heat. A seesaw battle in Cleveland saw the Heat threaten to end the Cavs’ 11-game unbeaten streak after opening up a seven-point lead late in the fourth quarter, but the Cavs clawed back the deficit in the closing minutes to seal their 12th straight victory and a place in the post-season. The Cavaliers improved to 52-10, maintaining their stranglehold on the Eastern Conference with 20 games of the regular season remaining. Mitchell was one of six Cleveland
Five-time champion Novak Djokovic on Saturday tumbled out of the Indian Wells ATP Masters, falling in his first match to lucky loser Botic van de Zandschulp as two-time defending champion Carlos Alcaraz advanced. “No excuses for a poor performance,” 24-time Grand Slam champion Djokovic said after 37 unforced errors in a 6-2, 3-6, 6-1 defeat. “It doesn’t feel great when you play this way on the court,” he said. “But congratulations to my opponent — just a bad day in the office, I guess, for me.” Djokovic is just the latest in Van de Zandschulp’s string of superstar victims. He
Steve Smith yesterday announced his retirement from one-day international (ODI) cricket after captaining Australia to a semi-final exit at the ICC Champions Trophy, bringing down the curtain on a career in the format that included two ICC World Cup wins. The 35-year-old batsman, who was his team’s top scorer with 73 as Australia lost to India by four wickets in Dubai on Tuesday, said he would still be available for selection for T20 internationals and Test matches. “It has been a great ride and I have loved every minute of it,” Smith said in a Cricket Australia statement. “There have been so