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He wins China's fifth gold medal

China's He Zi competes in the women's 1m springboard final event at the World Swimming Championships in Melbourne, Australia, yesterday. She won the gold medal in the event. PHOTO: AP

He Zi earned a close victory over two-time champion Blythe Hartley of Canada in the women's 1m springboard yesterday, giving China its fifth gold medal at the world championships.

He won with 316.65 points -- 5.45 better than Hartley, who was the champion two years in Montreal and in 2001 in Fukuoka, Japan.

Yuliya Pakhalina of Russia took the bronze with 304.60.

American Allison Brennan was never in contention and finished last among six divers.

He, a 16-year-old diver in her second major international meet, overtook Hartley for first place on her fourth dive. He's reverse somersault received 72.00 points -- her highest score of the five-dive final. The dive had a 3.0 degree of difficulty, and along with her third dive worth 3.1, He pulled off the toughest two dives of the final.

He made her international debut last December at the Asian Games, but she looked like a veteran against her older competition.

Hartley led through three rounds and earned mostly 8.5s for her fourth dive. But He, diving last, did the more difficult dive and scored 72 points, which allowed her to take over the lead for good.

Irina Lashko, the 2003 champion while diving for Australia, finished fifth. The 34-year-old, who also won in 1998, recently cut ties with her adopted country and returned to competing for her native Russia.

The Chinese are 5-0 at the Albert Park diving venue, with five events remaining.

Earlier, Qin Kai and He Chong finished 1-2 on the 3m board, upstaging defending world champion Alexandre Despatie. The Canadian was first during the preliminaries -- the first non-Chinese diver to lead a session at these championships -- but dropped to fifth in the semi-finals.

"Of course, I would have liked a better position," Despatie said. "But I am placed fifth and have the good guys [diving] behind me. It is good to be in this spot."

The top 12 advanced to the final later yesterday.
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