China's Cao Yuan competes during the men's 3m springboard final of Diving at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on Aug. 16, 2016. Cao Yuan won the gold medal. (Xinhua/Wang Yuguo)
The Chinese diving "dream team" reclaimed its dominance in the men's three-meter springboard as Cao Yuan won the gold medal on Tuesday. [Special coverage]
Cao, 21, was the only Chinese diver in the final as hot favorite He Chao, winner of the event at the Kazan Worlds, was eliminated in the preliminary on Monday.
He led the six-round final from the very start, ending with 547.60 points at the Maria Lenk Aquatics Centre. Britain's Jack Laugher took silver with 523.85 points while Germany's Patrick Hausding claimed bronze with 498.90 points.
It was Cao's second Olympic gold medal following his synchronized 10m platform title at the London 2012 Games. China has now won five of the six diving gold medals decided so far at the Rio Olympics.
"I was under pressure," he said. "But when the final began, I have to focus on my dives and don't think about other things."
"Actually I enjoyed the competition very much and I knew I made a good last dive," he added.
China lost this gold medal at the London Games four years ago where He Chong and Qin Kai lost to Russia's Ilia Zakharov. The defending champion failed to make the semifinal.
Cao also met difficulties in the 3m springboard. He only finished the 19th in the event at the World Cup in February.
"I didn't make full preparation at that time, so I didn't expect so many things happened. I wasn't able to concentrate on my competition," he said. "We had outdoor training in Guangzhou before the Olympic Games and this time we have been prepared for all the conditions. The environment in Guangzhou is similar with here."
"It was a hard competition in the synchro springboard, but today, the weather is good, and I did enjoy the competition," he added.
Cao won the synchronised 10m platform with Zhang Yanquan at the London Games and switched to springboard in 2013.
"I was quite young back to 2012 and I was lucky to win a synchro gold at that time," he said. "When I first tried the springboard, I found it was not too hard for me. So it was a natural choice."
