The Japan Diving Championships opened in Utsunomiya City on the 5th, and the pair of Sayaka Mikami and Rin Kaneto, who won the silver medal in the women's synchronized diving at the World Championships held last month, demonstrated their ability. and won.
The Japan Diving Championships will be held in Utsunomiya City from the 5th to the 3rd.
Four events were held on the first day of the tournament, and among them, the pair of Mikami and Kaneto, who won the silver medal at the world championship last month, participated in the women's synchronized diving board.
Mikami and Kaneto showed a stable performance in the final, especially in the last 5th performance, they took off backwards and turned 2 and a half backwards 205B neatly until entering the water and marked a high score of 78.30, 323.40. won the
Mikami also participated in the women's board diving final.
After the world championships, he was infected with the new coronavirus and was not able to practice enough, but he scored over 70 points in 3 out of 5 performances without mistakes, marking a high score of 347.35. He won the championship for the first time in two years and won the championship for the fourth time, achieving two crowns.
2nd place was Kaneto, and 3rd place was Ryoka Enomoto, who was 10th in this event at the world championships.
In fourth place was Yuka Mabuchi, a former Japanese national team player who retired in 2017 but announced her return to active duty in January.
In addition, in the men's synchronized diving final, the 41-year-old pair of Ken Terauchi and Jo Sakai scored 81.60 in their fifth performance, winning their seventh victory with a score of 392.64.
Sayaka Mikami "I'm relieved to be able to put out my personal best"
Sayaka Mikami said with a smile about the women's synchronized diving board, "I'm relieved that I was able to achieve my personal best. I was very happy to see the score of 78 points for the last performance for the first time."
Regarding the women's board diving, which won the championship for the fourth time, based on the fact that she was infected with the new coronavirus immediately after returning from the world championships, she said, "Considering the period I could not practice, I was able to perform stably this time, but it is still not enough. There are also parts. I want to regain my strength and do my best to keep scoring 350 points from the next game onwards."
Rin Kaneto "Personal best, honestly happy"
On the other hand, her partner, Rin Kaneto, commented on the synchronized diving, saying, "I'm honestly happy that I got my personal best. There were some parts I wasn't good at at the World Championships, so this time I was relieved that the content was so good." I looked back.
Regarding her 2nd-place jumper, she said, ``In individual events, it's always been a challenge to perform as I practiced in the competition, and I couldn't do much this time either. I want to."
Ken Terauchi "It was better than the game in February, so I'm relieved"
Ken Terauchi, who won the Men's Synchronized Jumping, reflected, "I couldn't overcome my failure in the February match, so I was worried about the run-up this time. However, the result was better than February, so I'm relieved." I was.
As for the future, he said, "Next year's World Championships in Fukuoka is my immediate goal. It was a very moving moment when I flew in the midst of the cheering at the World Championships in Fukuoka 21 years ago. Once again, I want to give a performance that will impress us."
In addition, Jo Sakai, who forms a pair, said, "I hope we can match each other for the world championship next year. I will do my best not to give in to the pressure of competing in the world."
Yuka Mabuchi "Close to 100 points"
Yuka Mabuchi, who announced her return to active duty this year and placed second in the women's synchronized diving board and fourth in the women's diving board, said, "I was worried and nervous until today's match, but my shoulder strength has improved since the qualifying round. I was able to get a high jump from the takeoff, and I was able to get a good harvest.I was able to improve my score compared to previous competitions, so I think I'm close to a perfect score of 100."
Regarding his return to active duty, he said, "I had a lot of conflicts before I made the decision to return, and not everyone supported me, and I was worried. Among them, I want to play again. I made a comeback with this in mind. I decided that I wanted to have no regrets until the end, and since I have not reached my goal yet, I want to do my best without letting my guard down.”
On top of that, regarding his next goal, he said, "I consider the Japan Championships to be one of my goals, the first step, and this time it's over. The next step is to be selected for the World Championships next year." I was.