Good afternoon and welcome to Sports Mole's live coverage of day eight of the Olympic diving.
It's semi-final time in the women's 3m springboard today, and Team GB's Rebecca Gallantree and Hannah Starling are both in action after battling through the preliminaries.
The home pair were impressive during the opening round, holding their nerve against tough competition, including China's Wu Minxia and Zi He.
Wu and Zi came in first and second during the preliminaries, and go in to this one has the red hot favourites for gold and silver. Italy's Tania Cagnotto is a strong contender for bronze.
4.11pmJoins us tomorrow evening for all the action from the women's 3m springboard final!
3.56pmThat was a great performance from her, and she's surely one to watch in the future.
3.55pmCagnotto in second on 362.10, with Zi in third on 354.50. Agony for Starling who ends up in 13th, missing the final by 0.75 of a point!
3.53pmWu on the other hand, has given us a masterclass in diving. Her back 2 1/2 somersault is inch-perfect, netting 81.00. She wins the semi-final with 394.40 points.
3.53pmZi hasn't performed to her potential today. Her final dive is only good enough to move her to second behind Cagnotto.
3.52pmCagnotto books her place in the final with a reverse 2 1/2 worth 78.00. One of her best of the day.
3.51pmStratton makes the final along with Abel. Their final dives are as equally impressive the others they've performed this afternoon. Great consistency from both of them.
3.49pmKrug remains top, and Starling slides to eighth. Her progression depends on the other divers botching their final effort.
3.48pmWe'll see Loukas in the final. Her forward 2 1/2 somersault 1 twist is worth a cool 72.00 to move her to second.
3.48pmStarling sits in sixth as it stands, but she's going to slide down that table. Progression is unlikely, but not impossible.
3.47pmSoto ends on a 2 1/2 somersault 1 twist, and she's as consistent as ever too. She earns 72.00, and is in the final.
3.46pmLindberg and Krug have both booked their places in the final. Good final dives from them. Krug leads and Lindberg is second.
3.45pmSubschinski of Germany and Dallape of Italy have been reasonably consistent through out, but the competition is fierce, and they may not make the cut once the pace-setters have made their final dives.
3.43pmFedorova and Patrick are looking good for progression, sitting in second and first respectively.
3.40pmGallantree's final dive is one of her better efforts of the day. She finishes on a back 2 1/2 somersault to earn 57.00. She is destined for 18th.
3.39pmStarling steps up for her final dive and does herself proud with a forward 2 1/2 somersault 1 twist. She faltered slightly on entry, but still racks up 64.50. That may not be enough, but she has put up a good fight.
3.37pmWu leads at the end of round four, with Zi in second and Cagnotto in third. Starling is in 14th and will have to raise her game if she wants to progress. Gallantree remains in 18th.
3.36pmZi performs a reverse 2 1/2 somersault with expert precision for 76.50, but Wu follows that with a wonderful reverse somersault worth 81.00.
3.34pmCagnotto performs and inward 2 1/2 somersault, and she returns to form with this one. It's worth 70.50 to move her back to the top spot.
3.32pmStarling is sitting in eighth at the moment, but the frontrunners are about to dive now.
3.32pmSoto still going strong, she moves to second behind Krug after her fourth dive, before being pushed down to third by Loukas.
3.29pmA stunning reverse 2 1/2 somersault from Krug puts her back to the top of the pile. She earned a solid 72.00 for that one.
3.26pmDallape will drop down a few notches, only managing 54.0 for her fourth dive.
3.26pmPatrick and Fedorova are looking in good stead for the final. They are in respective first and second after four dives.
3.23pmGallantree continues to struggle, and the judges find fault in her execution again. Only 39.00 for her, and she will likely be bottom of the pack come the end of round four.
3.22pmStarling needed to dig deep on her fourth dive. It was a back 2 1/2 somersault and she nailed it with some good aerial work. The judges say 63.00. She's by no means out of it!
3.20pmWu is as brilliant as ever on her third dive. She leads the way at the top at the end of round three on 232.40, Cagnotto is in second, Zi in third. Starling could still make the final, but is in 14th place as it stands on 186.45. Gallantree props up the rest.
3.19pmMuch better from Zi on her third dive. A very tight back 2 1/2 from her, racking up 76.50. That puts her in an second behind Cagnotto.
3.18pmCagnotto can only manage 65.10 for her third dive. This gives the Chinese a chance to pull away.
3.18pmStratton and Abel remain consistent - 65.10 and 70.50 for their third dives. Expect to see them in the final.
3.16pmCanada's Heymans pulls off the dive of the afternoon! It was a masterful 2 1/2 somersault, earning her 75.00. That puts her top ten.
3.15pmSoto of Mexico is looking good. She's just below Krug on 192.00 points after three dives.
3.12pmIt's a back 2 1/2 somersault. Nice entry into the water from her. She earns 67.50 to move back to the top of the pack.
3.11pmPatrick of Australia leads the way on 192.00, followed by Fedorova of the Ukraine, but Krug dives next.
3.11pmPatrick of Australia leads the way on 192.00, followed by Fedorova of the Ukraine, but Krug dives next.
3.07pmGallantree falls further off the pace, being marked down on her third dive for the execution. 49.60 won't do anything for her overall placing come the end of this round.
3.06pmStarling composes herself and pulls off a solid reverse 2 1/2 somersault for her third dive. The judges say 63.00,and she has a fighting chance of the last 12!
3.05pmCagnotto is in second, and Zi down in sixth. GB's Starling is in contention for the final in 12th with a score of 123.45. Gallantree down in 15th.
3.05pmWu is more convincing with her second round dive and leads the way after round two with an overall score of 153.35.
3.03pmZi hasn't hit top form yet. You'd expect her to earn more than 62.00 for a forward 2 1/2 somersault.
3.03pmCagnotto is elegant in her forward 2 1/2 somersault 1 twist. That puts her back into first place, earning 72.00.
3.01pmAbel makes short work of her forward 3 1/2 somersault. 69.75 for her, and that's good for first place.
3.00pmStratton's back 2 1/2 somersault is abrupt in her takeoff, but masterful in the air. She earns 64.50 and remains in good stead for the last 12.
2.59pmLoukas of the US does well on her reverse 2 1/2 somersault, earning 67.50 to move into second place behind compatriot Krug.
2.57pmSoto of Mexico moves into joint-second after her second dive. Krug leads with a score of 138.60.
2.56pmKrug's second dive keeps her in the fight with 65.10. It was a tidy forward 3 1/2.
2.55pmLindberg is up now. It's a no frills forward 3 1/2 somersault worth only 55.80 for her.
2.53pmA strong second dive from Dallape nets 65.10. She's in a good position.
2.53pmFedorova's back 2 1/2 somersault makes too much of a splash, earning 58.50. That will rank her close to the British girls.
2.51pmGallantree's second dive is somewhat uneven in the takeoff, but the judges don't punish her too harshly, awarding 58.50.
2.50pmA confident second dive from Starling. It's a forward 3 1/2 somersault for 60.45 from the judges. That will do her chances of progression no harm.
2.49pmPatrick's second dive is strong for 67.40. That keeps her in contention.
2.48pmAt the end of round one, Cagnotto and Wu share the top spot on 76.50, followed by Krug of the USA. The two Brits are in joint 14, which wouldn't be good enough to qualify.
2.47pmAnd Wu ends the round with a the same move done better for 76.50. She joins Cagnotto at the top.
2.47pmZi opens with an inward 2 1/2. Good aerial work for a score of 72.00. Lower than expected.
2.45pmCagnotto outdoes her with 76.50! She's top of the pile, but here come the Chinese.
2.45pmAbel of Canada scores 69.00 for her opener, and she takes second.
2.44pmStratton of Australia was one of the most consistent performers in the preliminaries, and she's off to a good one here, racking up 67.50 for her front 2 1/2 1 twist. She's joint second.
2.42pmNadezda Bazhina of Russia is off to a flier, earning 67.50 to move into second.
2.41pmKrug of the United States with a superb inward 2 1/2 somersault there. That earns her 73.50, putting her into an early lead.
2.39pmSwedish veteran Anna Lindberg with a back 2 1/2 somersault. It's businesslike, and the judges say 66.00. A good start for her.
2.38pmDallape Italy with in inward 2 1/2 somersault that the judges rate at 64.50. That puts her in second.
2.35pmOlena Fedorova of the Ukraine with a near-perfect forward 3 1/2 somersault. The judges say 67.20, and she takes a lead in the first round.
2.34pmGallantree gets her campaign under way with a forward 2 1/2 somersault 1 twist, and all three divers end up level pegging on 63.00.
2.33pmA nice inward 2 1/2 somersault is Starling's opening dive. She's off to an equally stead start with a 63.00 from the judges.
2.32pmPatrick starts us off with a neat back 2 1/2 somersault. The judges award her 63.00. A good start for the Aussie.
2.29pmJaele Patrick of Australia will be the first to dive today, followed by the two Britons.
2.26pmThe competitors are lining up poolside now and the action will be under way in just a moment.
2.25pmThanks to Eurosport for those quotes.
2.23pm"I just wanted to take in the feeling of the whole crowd because I thought it might be my last dive at the Olympics. I wanted to remember the moment so I turned around and looked at it all. It was brilliant. I was just so happy and at that time I didn't know if I was through."
2.21pmAt the tender age of 17, Starling is the youngest competitor in the last 18. Here's what she had to say about her performance in the preliminaries...
2.20pm"I'm really, really happy to be through to the semi-final and hopefully I can make some improvements for the semi-final and I can go out there and enjoy it again. We managed quite good scores but there is room for improvement. We know what we need to do to improve on it."
2.18pmThis is Gallantree's second Olympic Games, having competed at Beijing 2008. She's hoping to build on her performance in the preliminaries. Here's a pre-event quote from here...
2.17pmEver the straight talker is Wu.
2.16pm"It was my usual performance. I have done well. I will try to perform my personal best. I think everyone did quite well. It's very competitive."
2.14pmWu is chasing a record-equalling sixth diving medal in this event, and won the preliminaries with a score of 387.95. Here's what she had to say in the wake of that...
2.12pmAs always, the Chinese are the clear favourites with Wu Minxia and Zi He taking first and second in yesterday's preliminaries. Then there's the ever impressive Tania Cagnotto of Italy, and Canada's Jennifer Abel.
2.11pmTeam GB's Rebecca Gallantree and Hannah Starling will have to dig deep to reach tomorrow evening's final, the competition today is fierce.
2.10pmGood afternoon and welcome to our live text commentary from the women's 3m springboard semi-final.
Written by
Mark Langshaw
Mark Langshaw
