The Morning Swim Show News Segment, July 21, 2009: Diving, Open Water Swimming, Synchronized Swimming Results from World Championships

PHOENIX, Arizona, July 21. A thrilling platform diving final and information regarding an upcoming reality show highlight today's news segment of The Morning Swim Show.

Following is a transcript of the show, hosted by Jeff Commings. Click on the button on the right to view the show.

Probably the most anticipated diving final of the meet was the men's 10-meter, which featured reigning Olympic champion Matthew Mitcham of Australia, Olympic silver medalist Zhou Luxin, David Boudia of the United States, teen sensation Thomas Daley of Great Britain and rising star Qiu Bo of China, who led all qualifiers after the semifinals.

If you thought the Olympic final was thrilling, this was a competition that will be remembered for years. Mitcham, Zhou, Daley and Qiu were all within four points of each other throughout the first four rounds. Qiu looked poised to win the competition with this back 3 ½ somersault in the fourth round, which gave him 104.4 points.

The sixth round saw Mitcham falter on a back 2 ½ somersault with 2 ½ twists to take him down to fourth place. Zhou faltered on his back 2 ½ somersault with 2 ½ twists as well. He finished in the bronze medal position. Qiu also saved his back 2 ½ somersault with 2 ½ twists for the final round and could only get sevens and eights from the judges.

It wasn't enough to keep 15-year-old Thomas Daley from capturing his first world championship title. The British phenom scored four 10s on this back 3 ½ somersault in the fifth round and was the only one in the top four to nail his sixth round dive, a reverse 3 ½ somersault, earning a couple of 10s. Daley won the gold by seven points, and the top four was separated by only 10 points. Boudia faltered in the middle rounds but rallied back to finish in sixth place.

China may be losing its golden touch in a few of the diving events in Rome, but Guo Jingjing always has the Midas touch. The two-time Olympic champ on the 3-meter springboard is now a three-time world champion in the event, edging out silver medalist Emilie Heymans of Canada by 41 points. The home country won its first medal of these world championships with Tania Cagnotto's bronze, keeping China's He Zi off the medal stand. Tania competes for the University of Houston in the United States and is coached by her father, who competed in five Olympics for Italy.

The open water competition began earlier today in Italy, after harsh winds postponed the start by two days. The women and men completed the 5K races, with Germany's Thomas Lurz winning his third straight 5K world championship title and Australia's Melissa Gorman edging out defending champion Larisa Ilchenko for the gold by just five tenths of a second.

Lurz and Gorman are scheduled to compete in tomorrow's 10K event, in which Gorman will once again face off against defending champ Ilchenko. Lurz finished second in the 10K to Vladmir Dyatchin by six-hundredths of a second, but Dyatchin didn't qualify for the 10K for Russia, so Lurz has to be considered the favorite. But keep an eye on Greece's Spyridon Gianniotis, who finished three-tenths behind Lurz in today's 5K race.

Russia continues its dominance of the synchronized swimming events in Rome. After winning the team technical and solo technical routines, Russia's duo of Anastasia Davydova and Svetlana Romashina won the duet technical routine final today. The free routine competitions begin tomorrow.

Next month on ABC in the United States, basketball star Shaquille O'Neal will star in a new reality series called "Shaq Vs.," in which he will compete against other sports figures in their disciplines. Among the superstars to appear will be boxer Oscar de la Hoya, tennis player Serena Williams, beach volleyball Olympic champions Misty May-
Treanor and Kerri Walsh, and Michael Phelps. Yes, Shaq will race Michael Phelps in the pool. No word on what the two will swim, or what suit Shaq will wear. The question is: Is there a swimsuit manufacturer that has a suit big enough for Shaq?

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