WATCH: 2012 gold medalist diver belly flops, scores zero at Rio Olympics
Things didn't go as planned for Ilya Zakharov
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1 min read
Russian Ilya Zakharov won a gold and silver medal at the 2012 Olympics, so he had high expectations heading into Tuesday's men's three-meter springboard diving competition.
While not necessarily expected to win another gold medal, Zakharov was expected to at least contend for the podium.
He certainly was not expected to do this.
2012 gold medalist Ilia Zakharov scored a 0, did not advance to the 3m springboard final. https://t.co/o5DoHf41wuhttps://t.co/RR7VaM4ngc
— NBC Olympics (@NBCOlympics) August 16, 2016
Zakharov scored a zero on that absolute disaster of a dive, which caused him to finish dead last in the semifinal and end his Olympics on the lowest note possible.
It looks like Zakharov was off from his initial jump, and there was just no way to recover once he veered off course. The Russian won gold in 2012 in the individual three-meter springboard, and took silver in the synchronized three-meter springboard.
China's Cao Yuan finished with the highest semifinal score this time around, while Americans Michael Hixon and Kristian Ipsen also advanced to Tuesday evening's final.
