Despatie Mines Gold in Three-Meter Springboard at World Champs -- July 20, 2005

MONTREAL, Canada, July 20. IT was exactly what the hometown crowd wanted. A 20-year-old resident of Montreal, Alexandre Despatie captured a gold medal in the three-meter springboard diving competition during Tuesday’s World Championships. En route to victory, Despatie broke through the 800-point barrier and finished with a total of 813.60.

Despatie’s gold-medal finish featured a championship-record score and complemented Blythe Hartley’s win in the one-meter springboard from Monday night. Hartley, a standout at the University of Southern California, also hails from Canada. Earning the silver medal behind Despatie was the United States’ Troy Dumais (752.76) and China’s He Chong (730.77).