MITCHAM WEARING GOLD AGAIN

Despite limited preparation Matthew Mitcham has claimed another national diving title, winning the 1-metre springboard final at the Australian Open Diving Championships in Brisbane.

27-year-old Mitcham only returned to full training one month ago, after taking a break following last year’s Commonwealth Games to allow a torn tendon in his arm to mend.

Because of the limited preparation, the Beijing gold medalist is only competing in the springboard events this week, and not the event which shot him to diving fame in 2008, the 10-metre platform.

He’ll compete in the final of the 3-metre springboard tomorrow.

“It has been a very short amount of time, so obviously I’m not anywhere close to where I’d like to be,” Mitcham said.

“But I’m a competitor, and I thrive off the adrenalin that comes with competition. It’ll be closer than what I would like it to be, whichever way it goes.”

It was only a small and relatively inexperienced field in the 1-metre final, a non-Olympic event.

Mitcham’s final score of 373.65 was more than 30 points ahead of silver medalist, Victoria’s Josh Kehagias, with promising South Australian junior, Matthew Carter, in third.

In other events on Friday, Perth teenager Maddison Keeney followed up her 1-metre gold from Thursday by qualifying first for this weekend’s women’s 3-metre final.

She finished ahead of South Australia’s Samantha Mills, with Queensland teenager, Georgia Sheehan, third.

Commonwealth Games gold medalist, Esther Qin, finished fourth after small mistakes on two of her dives.

In the men’s platform, American-based Victorian, James Connor, has thrown down the gauntlet to Commonwealth Games synchro gold medalist, Domonic Bedggood, by qualifying first for Sunday’s final.

Connor finished the semi-final more than 40 points ahead of Bedggood.

The Australian Open Diving Championships continue at Brisbane’s Chandler Pool tomorrow.