National diver Bertrand Rhodict’s Olympic debut ends in early exit

3 months ago 35

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By DayakDaily Team

KUCHING, Aug 10: National diver Bertrand Rhodict Lises concluded his debut at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games yesterday (Aug 9).

According to national news agency Bernama, the 19-year-old athlete finished 25th out of 26 competitors in the preliminary round of the men’s 10-meter (m) individual platform event, with a total score of 313.70 points at the Olympic Aquatics Centre.

This result means that Bertrand’s Olympic campaign ended earlier than hoped, as only the top 18 divers from the six dives advanced to the semifinals, scheduled for today.

Bertrand, who was one of Malaysia’s flag bearers at the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics on July 26, started off fairly well, scoring 66.00 and 60.80 points in his first two dives, putting him on track to qualify for the next round.

However, his performance declined as he managed only 49.50, 34.00, and 37.80 points in the next three dives, causing him to slip out of the top 18.

A late comeback with a score of 65.60 in the final dive was not enough to change his position.

China’s Cao Yuan dominated the preliminary round, leading with 500.15 points as he sought to defend his Olympic gold.

He was followed by Rikuto Tamai of Japan (497.15) and Rylan Wiens of Canada (485.25), who rounded out the top three.

Speaking to Bernama after the event, Bertrand expressed his disappointment, citing pressure as a key factor in his performance.

“I can say it wasn’t my best performance, but it wasn’t my worst either. However, at this level, I feel like I didn’t succeed. The pressure really got to me during the competition.

“I couldn’t focus and perform well, so this is the end of my Olympic journey. I can’t say much more because these were new dives, a new experience for me, and with the pressure, I just couldn’t execute them well,” he was quoted as saying.

Holding back tears, Bertrand added, “I will definitely come back stronger for the next competition. This is just the beginning, and hopefully, I’ll deliver a better performance in future competitions.”

Bertrand, who won bronze in the 10m synchronised platform event at the Hangzhou Asian Games alongside Enrique Maccartney Harold, said he plans to spend some time with his family in Sarawak to recover both mentally and physically after months of intensive training.

No Malaysian diver has ever reached the semifinals in the men’s 10m platform event at the Olympic Games. — DayakDaily

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