• London Olympics 2012

Daley fears China Olympic diving domination

ESPN staff
April 18, 2011
Tom Daley is adding difficulty to his routine © Getty Images
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Tom Daley has played down his chances of landing individual gold at the 2012 Olympic Games in London, with the British teenager claiming "the Chinese are so far ahead".

Daley and his partner Pete Waterfield claimed victory in the 10-metre platform synchro event at the Diving World Series in Sheffield, but the 16-year-old was well beaten in the individual event.

Chinese superstar Qiu Bo won the event, with his fellow countryman Liang Huo in second, while Daley did not get on to the podium despite adding some new dives to his routine.

The teenager will continue to work on his routine, adding difficulty to his repertoire, but feels the conveyor belt of talent coming out of China makes his task extremely difficult.

"The Chinese are so far ahead of everyone that they can only chuck away gold at London," Daley said.

Britain's performance director Alexei Evangulov is positive about the chances of Daley and Waterfield showing up well in the synchro in London.

"It will be hard to win individual gold in London because more divers can enter from each country," Evangulov said. "But not all have two who work as well together. In Tom and Pete I have two little treasures."

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.
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