Tom Daley produces the perfect dive to strike individual gold in the USA
Last updated 5/11/2009 11:25:23 AM
Tom Daley produces the perfect dive
The pessimists who believed that diver Tom Daley was a product of Olympic hype are having to think again as the 14 year old diver took another gigantic leap towards the London Olympic Games.
The Teenager Daley produced a rare perfect dive as he secured his first gold medal of the year in the men's 10m platform in Fort Lauderdale.
Daley scored a perfect 10 from all seven judges on his penultimate dive to finish on 554.90 points, his highest ever score in the event and followed up his silver medal on Friday in the synchronised event with his new partner Max Brick who has been diving only since last month . David Boudia and Thomas Finchum of the United States took gold with 457.26.
It was no easy ride for the British teenager as he was up against last year's World Cup Champion Sascha Klein, who took silver, and Olympic silver medallist Luxin Zhou, who finished third.
Daley, the 2008 European Champion, dropped marks on his second dive, but then impressed the judges and the audience with his back three and a half somersault tuck, the dive which earned him his full marks across the board.
His final dive brought five more maximum 10s and two 9.5s to put the gold medal out of German rival Klein's reach.
His final total was the fifth time this year that he had beaten his best score and is the highest ever score for the event.
Daley said: "It was my personal best score by 14 points, so I'm really happy. It was good that all my dives were near perfect."