Rio 2016: When is the men's diving final and will Tom Daley be competing?

Everything you need to know about the men's diving final

Poppy Ovenden
Monday 25 July 2016 15:04 BST
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Rio 2016: All you need to know about the men's diving final

When is it?

The men’s diving 10m platform final will be held on Saturday 20 August 2016.

What time will it be on?

The event will start at around 8.30pm BST (4.30pm local time in Rio).

Where can I watch it live?

BBC One, BBC Two, BBC Four, the BBC red button and the BBC Sport website will have live coverage of all events at Rio 2016.

Who are the contenders?

Expected to dominate the competition are the Chinese powerhouses Qui Bo and Aisen Chen, who won gold and silver medals at the Fina Diving World Cup respectively. They were also both on the podium for the Fina Diving World series in Russia. The most formidable force is Bo, who has 3 world championship gold medals to his name and came second in the 2012 London Olympics.

The other group of strong contenders are the Americans. The USA’s David Dinsmore and team mate Steele Johnson came in at third and fourth at the Fina Diving World Championships. They are both making their Olympic debut.

Another one to watch out for is the USA’s David Boudia, who beat world champion Qui Bo to the Gold medal in a surprising victory at London 2012. However, he seems to have been less active on the diving scene since then and, at aged 27, may be reaching the end of his career.

Any British hopes?

Tom Daley, of course, who will be competing in his third Olympics. The 22-year-old was the poster boy of London 2012 and went on to take home the bronze medal.

He won silver in the Fina Diving World Series in Russia back in April, sandwiched between China’s Bo and Aisen. He told BBC Sport: “I feel like I'm at my peak in terms of strength and conditioning, my consistency and the degree of difficulty with my routines."

Remember when…

Daley’s popularity almost worked against him in a dramatic turn of events at the 2012 Games. In the final round, Daley was distracted during his dive due to a large number of camera flashes from fans in the spectators’ stands.

Tom Daley talks Olympics

His dive scored only 75 points but, after appealing to the referee, he was allowed to retake it. The re-dive scored him an impressive 91.80, which led him to his bronze medal win.

What’s the record score?

The highest-scoring single dive in Olympic history was done by Australia’s Matthew Mitcham in the final of the 2008 games in Beijing. His near-perfect back two and a half somersault with two and a half twists went on to score 4 perfect 10s from the judges, resulting in a final score of 112.10

He was the first Australian male to win an Olympic gold medal for diving since 1024. His achievement was commemorated by Australia Post who issued a 50 cent stamp with his face on it.

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