- We’re in the box seat for a medal heading into the final round
- Dropped from third to fifth place in the rankings
- Aussies devastated in emotional scenes
Anabelle Smith described how she was “screaming underwater” after she was responsible for the disastrous final dive that cost her and diving partner Maddison Keeney Australia’s first medal at the Paris Olympics.
Tears flowed after the heartbroken duo delivered a shocking fifth and final performance on the women’s 3m synchronised springboard on Saturday.
They dropped from third to fifth place, while on the opening afternoon of the Games in the swimming paradise in Paris it looked like they might even win silver.
“I don’t know,” Smith shrugged when asked about the failure.
“That’s diving – trying to control your body and turning a lot on an uneven, very bouncy board. Had a bad hurdle and landed on the side of the board, which obviously affects the rest of the dive. It’s just unfortunate.”
Tears flowed after the heartbroken duo delivered a shocking fifth and final performance on the women’s 3m synchronised springboard on Saturday.
They dropped from third to fifth place, while on the opening afternoon of the Games in the swimming paradise in Paris it looked like they might even win silver.
The usually reliable duo, who regularly stand on the podium at major championships, made a mess of their final difficult dive: two and a half somersaults with one turn into pike.
Anabelle Smith and Maddison Keeney were in the box seat for a medal until a disastrous final dive dropped them from third to fifth
The 31-year-old Smith, playing her fourth game, blamed herself for a slip on the right side of the board.
“Yeah, pretty brutal. I can’t change it now, so there’s no point dwelling on it,” the Melburnian said, after the tears had dried.
“Really, these things happen. They happen to the best of the best, and unfortunately today was my day. So I can’t let it define me. We’ve done some pretty amazing things in our 10 years.”
Asked if her heart sank as she awkwardly lifted off the right side of the board, Smith smiled ruefully: “I was screaming underwater — I was hoping the underwater camera wasn’t on. It’s just disappointing, very disappointing.”
Maddison Keeney supports her teammate who burst into tears when she realised their medal chances were in tatters
Trailing American silver medallists Sarah Bacon and Kassidy Cook (314.64 points) by less than a point going into the final round, the Australians – who had recorded the second-best dives in the previous two rounds – looked set to equal their performance from eight years ago in Rio, when they won bronze.
Because they didn’t hit the pool in sync, they were given the worst score of the final round – 48.60 points – and ended up with a total of 292.20, putting them behind British bronze medallists Yasmin Harper and Scarlet Mew Jensen and fourth-placed Italians Elena Bertocchi and Chiara Pellacani.
Chinese world champions Chang Yani and Chen Yiwen (337.68) were once again in a class of their own as they won gold.
The 28-year-old three-time world champion Keeney from Perth and Smith had won silver at the world championships in Doha and were expected to do so again, behind the dominant Chinese duo.
“Maddi and I obviously worked hard on the synchro and we had high expectations of ourselves and obviously of other people,” Smith said.
‘Of course it will take a while after this, but I have to keep going. I’m not dying, so I’m fine.
“I just feel guilty that I let the team down.”