Heald Grabs Bronze for Britain at European Junior Diving Champs

MALLORCA, Spain, July 5. TEENAGE diver Elizabeth Heald won the one-meter springboard bronze for Britain at the European Junior Championships in Mallorca. The 13-year-old, who was a gymnast before switching to diving just two years ago, improved on her sixth place finish after the preliminaries to bag the bronze. Heald (City of Sheffield) left it to her final dive to secure the podium spot, scoring an impressive 300.15 points in total, and was just off Anna Pysmenska of the Ukraine who clinched silver with 301.50 points. Viktoriya Khitrinska (also of the Ukraine) won gold with 306.40 points.

Competing in her first international event, Heald was delighted with her performance.

"I feel amazing," she said. "I've only been diving two years so to come this far already is quite a shock. I was a gymnast before and a national champion but was getting bored and too old so diving gave me something new to do. I had hoped to make the final and was so excited to do so. I knew I just needed to be consistent and keep strong. It's incredible to get a medal."

The youngster will now be hoping to repeat that performance and reach the finals at the Junior World Championships in Kuala Lumpar in August.

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