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| Ruiz, Dumais advance to semis in springboard diving
SportsLine.com wire reports
SYDNEY, Australia -- The Chinese faces have grown as long as their losing streak at the diving pool. The smiling Americans are just having fun.
Picking up where Laura Wilkinson left off, Mark Ruiz and Troy Dumais advanced to the semifinals of men's 3-meter springboard Monday.
Ruiz was fourth with 429.30 points after performing the fourth-toughest program in the preliminaries. The 21-year-old from Orlando, Fla., did especially well on his last of six dives, a reverse 3½ somersault with a half-twist.
Emerging from the water, Ruiz pumped his right fist and smiled broadly while taking a dip in the hot tub.
"I wanted to finish up on a good note," he said.
Defending Olympic champion Xiong Ni, who came out of retirement to bolster China's chances, led the prelims at Sydney International Aquatic Center with 457.38.
The powerful Chinese took three of four diving golds in Atlanta, but they are still seeking their first victory of these games.
They settled for silver in two synchronized diving events and were victimized again Sunday by Wilkinson, who became the first American woman since 1964 to win the 10-meter platform. Li Na settled for second.
"What I learned from last night is anything can happen," said Ruiz, who cheered Wilkinson's victory from a front-row seat. "The best in the world doesn't always win."
Dumais, 20, of Ventura, Calif., placed seventh with 407.64. He wondered if the Chinese are taking the right approach to the sport.
"Do they ever smile or laugh? Do they have a life outside diving?" Dumais asked. "What makes it hard for them is if they don't win a medal, they're done. We're having fun."
Xiong's closest pursuers were Fernando Platas of Mexico (444.60) and Dmitry Sautin, defending Olympic champion in platform and current world champion at 3 meters. The Russian totaled 444.51.
The top 18 advanced to the semifinals Tuesday. The 12-man final will be held in the evening.
Ruiz, considered America's best hope for a diving medal before the games, failed in his first attempt. He teamed with David Pichler to place seventh out of eight teams in the 10-meter synchronized competition.
"Mark bounces back pretty good," U.S. coach Jay Lerew said. "He went with all his big stuff."
The United States has dominated the men's springboard competition, winning 15 of the 20 gold medals since the sport made its Olympic debut in 1908.
Ruiz favors the platform, but he's had success at 3 meters. The reigning Pan American champion placed seventh at the World Cup in January and eighth at a Grand Prix meet five months later.
"I was a decent springboard diver a year ago, but I wasn't great," Ruiz said. "In the last year, I've gotten so much better."
Dumais missed several major international meets leading up to the Olympics because of injuries. But he has a flair for the dramatic.
At the Olympic trials, Dumais was admitted to a hospital with kidney stones just hours before the competition. He returned to the pool in time to qualify for the team.
Forty-nine divers -- 10 more than Atlanta -- each performed six dives of their choice in a competition that dragged on for almost four hours.
"It was a very long contest," Dumais said. "Toward the end, I was like, 'Man, I've got to get some energy.' It eats away at your belief in yourself."
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