Kiwi diver Liam Stone has booked a place in the final of the men’s 1m springboard at the Commonwealth Games, finishing a comfortable seventh in qualifying.
In his return to one of diving’s biggest stages after missing last year’s Olympics due to an untimely injury, Stone opened with a forward a forward two-and-a-half somersaults which scored him a 61.10.
Stone then scored in the 50s for his next three moves before executing his best dive of the day in the penultimate round – a reverse two-and-a-half somersaults – to score 70.50.
The 25-year-old finish qualifying with a another forward two-and-a-half somersaults while adding a twist to it to score 62.40, overall scoring 362.35.
Australia’s Shixin Li was the top qualifier, scoring 388.70 from his six dives.
Stone returns to the final Friday morning at 5am NZT for the final.
Stone was one of two Kiwi divers in action on Friday morning with Mikali Dawson also competing in the women’s 10m platform.
After a positive start in her qualifiers with an armstand forward double somersault, the 17-year-old struggled to keep up with the competition and finished 14th – two places outside the top 12 who qualified for the final.
Dawson was named a reserve for the final with her 14th place finish, meaning if two qualified divers pull out, she will be given a spot.
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