Bryan Hopes To Do Well In World Meet To Earn Olympic Spot

PETALING JAYA: Platform diver Bryan Nickson Lomas is stepping up to the challenge as he seeks to kill two birds with one stone at the world aquatics championships in Shanghai next month.

Bryan is raising his level of difficulties during the current one-month training stint in Dali, China, in the hope that it will not only help him secure a third consecutive Olympic appearance in London next year but also a prized medal in the championships scheduled for July 16-31.

Bryan, who will celebrate his 21st birthday on June 30, hopes to successfully execute a four-and-a-half somersault dive routine at the championships.

Bryan Nickson Lomas

Three-and-a-half somersault routines were in vogue at the 2008 Beijing Olympics but the competitive standards in platform diving have since increased and the top ranked divers are now attempting a more complex dive.

Bryan, who became Malaysia’s first world junior diving champion in 2004, has a realistic chance to chalk up another first for the country as the first male medal winner in the world championships based on his bronze medal effort in the New Delhi Commonwealth Games and Guangzhou Asian Games last year.

However, he needs to raise his performance if he hopes to challenge strongly against the likes of China’s Qiu Bo and Zhou Luxin, Australia’s Olympic champion Matthew Mitcham and defen­ding world champion Tom Daley of Britain.

“The top ranked divers have started using this routine but it’s not so easy to get it right,” said Bryan.

“That is one of the reasons why the Chinese have not done well in men’s platform diving as it is hard to control the rotation once you are in the air.

“I have started to use this routine in training but I am trying to get the right technique to enter the water. I am also improving on my remaining routines and if my entries are clean, I have a chance to fight for a medal.

“My main aim, however, is to get into the final to secure an early ticket to the Olympics.”

The world championships offer the 12 finalists qualification for the London Games.

Bryan, who featured in the 2004 Athens and 2008 Beijing Olympics, has an excellent record in the world championships as he reached the top 12 final in men’s platform in 2007 (Mel­bourne) and 2009 (Rome).

His best placing was in Melbourne where he finished seventh in the final en route to becoming the first Malaysian athlete to qualify for the Beijing Olympics.

Besides Bryan, the other male divers currently training in China are Yeoh Ken Nee, Ooi Tze Liang, Mohd Fakhrul Izzat and Ahmad Amsyar.

The women divers involved in the stint are Commonwealth Games champion Pandelela Rinong, Leong Mun Yee, Trasie Vivien, Cheong Jun Hoong and Wendy Ng.