Platform, Women

Fu Mingxia was the clear favorite, having won the event in 1992 and the World title in both 1991 and 1994. Barring her falling apart, the only suspense was in who would win the other medals. In the end, Fu won the platform gold easily, leading after the qualifying and the semis, with a margin of over 42 points over German Annika Walter. Walter was a big surprise, although she had been World and European Junior Champion in 1991, but even she didn’t expect a medal, stating, “I didn’t really expect a silver medal. I didn’t think I would win any medal or even get in the top five, so this is incredible.” A few days later Fu would win the springboard, completing the first women’s Olympic diving double since Ingrid Krämer in 1960. In 2000 she won two golds, one on springboard and one in the synchronized springboard, ending her Olympic career with four gold medals and one silver. The bronze went to American Mary Ellen Clark, who had fought vertigo for the past few years, a devastating problem for divers. In 1996 she was 33-years-old and her medal made her the second oldest female diving medalist at the Olympics, only a few months younger than Ninel Krutova (URS), who also won a bronze in this event, in 1960.