Gladding and Powell secure Olympic quota places at diving test event

By Sportsbeat staff

MONIQUE Gladding and Stacie Powell secured Great Britain two slots in diving's 10m platform competition at the London 2012 Olympics with solid qualifiers at the FINA World Cup.

Gladding and Powell progressed to the semi-final ranked sixth and 14th respectively at the Olympic Aquatic Centre - well inside the top 18 target.

“For both of us the job was to get through to the semi-final and now we can go back and focus ready for the semi-finals," said Gladding.

"It was about getting through this round. Finishing sixth is fantastic but we can both move forward to the semis now.”

But Gladding's performance is all the more remarkable when you consider that just 12 months ago she was involved in a sickening accident during a competition in Moscow.

The 30-year old diver struck her head on the concrete platform and plunged into the water, with her husband and coach, believing she had been instantly killed. Gladding had no pulse after being dragged to the side of the pool and required mouth-to-mouth resuscitation to bring her back to life.

However, she has found the courage to dive again, despite continuing to suffer from recurring migraines.

“I’m trying to focus on moving forward," she added.

Powell claimed to have fully recovered from a recent much less serious injury but admitted to feeling the pressure as she seeks to make a second Olympic appearance this summer.

“There is a lot of pressure with the home crowd because you don’t want to let them down but it was so great to hear them," she said. 

"It is great to be back after my injury. I’m diving better now than I was back then so getting through this round with the intense pressure now I can relax a bit and enjoy it and hopefully step up a gear.”

Great Britain has already secured a host nation place in all synchro events at London 2012, which meant the pressure was off Chris Mears and Nick Robinson-Baker in the 3m event.

The pair finished tenth but some critical errors gave them plenty of room for improvement.

“Unfortunately today it didn’t quite pay off for us but there are five months until the Olympics and we can perfect that skill. We are happy to be tenth in the world at this point," said Robinson-Baker.

“There were some jittery nerves but our main goal was to come in here and have a good time and enjoy the experience. The crowd were fantastic and I just can’t wait for London 2012.”

China's Qin Kai and Luo Yuyong won gold with a 445.71 point total, the British pair finished 55.41 points behind.

© Sportsbeat 2012