Commonwealth Games 2022: Shixin Li and Maddison Keeney take silver after three-week partnership

Despite vastly different diving styles, Shixin Li and Maddison Keeney have teamed up to claim silver in the inaugural mixed synchronised 3m springboard. But it was an unusual journey.

Shixin Li and Maddison Keeney have another medal to add to their growing collections, finishing second in the inaugural mixed synchronised 3m springboard event at the Commonwealth Games.

A remarkable achievement considering the duo didn’t start diving together until three weeks ago.

The event is offered at world championships but it was the first time it had been included on any multi-sport competition diving program.

Games dual gold medal winner Keeney said she was very happy with the performance.

“It was our first competition diving together and we haven’t really been practising together a lot. We have very different styles so it was difficult but we had lots of fun,” Keeney said.

Li said he had to change his take-off for the event, which had been challenging.

“It is like switching between the Windows and Mac system,” Li said.

Maddison Keeney and Shixin Li compete in the mixed synchronised 3m springboard final. Picture: Al Bello/Getty Images

“It was difficult but fun.”

Keeney said the Games experience had “exceeded her expectations”.

“I was hoping to come away with gold in the synchro and then I just really wanted to do my best in the mixed synchro and individual and use that as a stepping stone for next year,” she said.

Li, who has already won a bronze and silver at these games in the men’s synchro 3m and individual 1m springboard, is happy to have one one more medal — meaning he now has one for each of his three children.

It means he reached the podium in three of his four events.

Both divers said they planned to compete together again — next time with a few more weeks of training together.

Australia’s Keeney and Li have only been diving together for three weeks.

Both divers plan to compete together again but with some more training.

Cassiel Rousseau and Emily Boyd have added another medal to Diving Australia’s haul — claiming bronze in the mixed 10m platform synchro event.

It was the duo’s first time diving together at a competition.

They had to fight for their spot on the podium with their final dive, which scored 71.04, earning them the bronze.

England’s Noah Williams and Andrea Spendolini-Sirieix took the top prize.

Aussie diver springs a medal after platform wobbles

A year ago Brittany O’Brien was in tears unable to dive off the 10m platform anymore she was ready to throw in the shammy for good.

It was a suggestion from her coach that convinced her to try springboard for the first time and now she is returning from Birmingham with a silver medal around her neck.

It was one of two medals Australia won at the diving pool with duo Dom Bedggood and Cassiel Rousseau taking bronze in the men’s synchronised 10m platform.

For Sydney’s O’Brien it was her abiltiy to once again find joy in diving after the Covid-19 lockdowns.

“I just struggled to get back into it,” O’Brien, 24, said. “It was a mental thing, I was having trouble getting my dives off the platform, I would just stand there and sort of cry.

Brittany O'Brien said she has redisovered her joy in diving. Picture: Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Images

“I was never really good at (springboard) in the beginning which was why I never did it. I’ve had to work really hard to get it.”

O’Brien had a shaky start in the preliminary round but had the rest of the field on notice after her first few dives.

She showed everyone what she could do in her fourth dive, a reverse two-and-a-half somersault in tuck, to earn 63 points - her highest in the competition.

A result that shocked even her.

“That is one of my newer dives and I’ve never really hit it in a competition before so it felt really good to actually put it down tonight,” O’Brien said.

A medal was all but guaranteed if she executed her fifth dive.

“I was so nervous, I was shaking,” O’Brien said. “But once I went through the water I was pretty confident with my performance.”

Brittany O'Brien with her silver medal. Picture: Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Images

And she was right to be as the dive scored 56.25 her second highest of the night and secured second spot.

Canada’s Mia Vallee finished 12.25 points ahead to claim gold.

The bronze medal went to England’s Amy Rollingson.

O’Brien’s synchro partner Esther Qin, who claimed bronze in the 1m springboard at the Gold Coast, was unlucky to miss a spot on the podium, finishing fourth.

ROOKIE AND VETERAN COMBINE FOR BRONZE

One is a rookie, the other a veteran of the sport but that didn’t stop Aussie duo Dom Bedggood and Cassiel Rousseau soaring in the men’s synchronised 10m platform event to finish in third place.

Bedggood has medalled in the same event at the past three Commonwealth Games, each time with a different partner.

He was diving for something extra this morning and that was to do his parents proud.

“My mother and father are usually always with me at the Commonwealth Games but unfortunately my father is very sick at the moment so he couldn’t travel,” Bedggood said.

“I just really wanted to do them proud back home.”

The event was Rousseau’s first Commonwealth Games and just second time diving alongside Bedggood at a major event. Their first outing was at the recent World Championships where they finished seventh.

“As a partnership we have done a miniscule amount together, we only started to get serious about four or five months ago,” Rousseau, who made the final in the men’s 10m synchronised event in Tokyo, said.

Domonic Bedggood and Australia's Cassiel Rousseau the men's synchronised 10m platform diving. Picture: Andy Buchanan / AFP

Bedggood said the event was a perfect stepping stone on the road to Paris.

“Eight years ago I was the young one diving with Matt Mitcham and now I’m the old one that needs to ice my knees at night,” Bedggood said.

“So the tables have turned quickly. For us to wrap up our first season on the international stage together with that performance, which is our best of the season, gives us a lot of promise for the future, which is what we are striving for.”

The duo scored 412.56 - just 1.29 points off second placed Canada’s Rylan Weins and Nathan Zsombor-Murray.

They eased into their event in Birmingham, starting with some lower difficulty rated dives before pulling out a host of tricks for their remaining four dives.

At the halfway point the pair were sitting in third place and after their fourth dive were just 14.43 points off first.

With the competition including Olympians and world silver medal winners England’s Matthew Lee and Noah Williams, who went on to claim gold this morning, it was always going to be a tough night off the platform.

They nailed their fifth dive, their most difficult, a forward four and a half somersaults tuck to collect 84.36 points from the judges.

With one dive to go, the boys were sitting in third, just 13 points behind Lee and Williams. They scored another 81 points off their final dive to lock in third place.

Both will be back in action later this week with Rousseau in the men’s 10m platform individual and Bedggood in the mixed synchronised events.