Russia came closest to challenging China’s recent dominance of world diving on the first day of the 2012 World Cup in London, the last diving test event before the Olympics.
Evgeny Kuznetsov and Ilya Zakharov took silver in the men’s three-meter synchronized springboard, Monday's only medal event, while Yulia Koltunova laid down a marker by coming second in the preliminary round of the women’s 10-meter platform.
Chinese divers swept the board at the 2011 World Aquatic Championships in Shanghai, taking all the gold medals.
The country proved irrepressible in London as Qin Kai and Luo Yutong took the men’s 3-meter synchronized gold with a score of 445.71 points, ahead of Kuznetsov and Zakharov. Malaysia’s Brian Nickson Lomas and Huang Qiang won bronze.
Chen Ruolin, who won two gold medals at home in Beijing at the 2008 Olympics, led the women’s 10-meter platform standings after the preliminary round, ahead of Tuesday’s final.
The venue for the World Cup is the new $430 million Aquatics Center, where all of the Olympic swimming events will take place except open water.
British star Tom Daly will compete for the first time at the Olympic venue when he takes part in the men’s 10-meter synchronized event Thursday.
Russia has a long history in diving and picked up three silver and two bronze medals at the 2008 Olympics, but has not won an Olympic gold since 2000.
Including the record of the Soviet Union, Russia ranks third in the all-time Olympic diving medal table with 30 medals, including seven gold, behind only the US and China.
Russia will host the 2015 World Aquatics Championships in the city of Kazan.
