Aquatics

McCabe wins European Junior Championship synchro gold medal with Lee

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PLYMOUTH Diving’s Euan McCabe enjoyed a successful start to the European Junior Diving Championships in Romania by winning a gold medal for Great Britain with synchro partner Robbie Lee on Tuesday evening.

McCabe and Lee topped the podium in the boys’ A/B platform final. The pair produced a great final dive to edge out the Italians for the gold.

The British duo scored 265.74 points, with Italy finishing on 263.16 points and Ukraine taking bronze with 254.76.

Lee and McCabe started the competition well, sitting joint at the top of the table with Germany after the opening round when their forward one-and-a-half somersault pike scored them 45.00 points.

They followed that up with a back dive pike that scored 47.40 points before an impressive inward three-and-a-half somersaults tuck gave them 56.64 points to earn them a total of 149.04 points after the opening three rounds.

That gave them a lead of 2.64 points at that stage in a gold medal battle that was going down to the wire.

In the fourth of five rounds the British duo’s back three-and-a-half somersault tuck scored them 49.50 points but an impressive round from Italy saw them jump to the top spot with a 4.14-point lead heading into the final round.

Italy took to the board before Britain for their final attempt where they scored a massive 60.48 points leaving Lee and McCabe needing to score 64.62 to win the competition.

Lee and McCabe’s back two-and-a-half somersault one-and-a-half twist pike wowed the judges to score 67.20 points and oust the Italians and secure Britain’s first gold medal of the championships.

McCabe will dive again in the individual platform event on Sunday.

Meanwhile, Matthew Dixon has been named in Great Britain’s 14-strong squad for next month’s European Aquatics Championships in Rome.

Dixon will head to the iconic Stadio Olimpico del Nuoto after competing for Team England at the Commonwealth Games.

Plymouth Diving do have a number of young divers hoping to follow in the footsteps of Dixon and McCabe and the club returned home with medals from this month’s Swim England National Skills Finals in Leeds.

There was a silver medal for Ava Cowper in the CA girls’ competition and bronzes for Isaac Ide in the D2 boys’ event and Louie McCue in the C2 boys’ age group.

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