Water jumper Alexander Hart missed the European Championship final in Rome in the 3m competition, just as he did from the 1m board. The athlete, who is studying in the USA, had finished 22nd on Thursday, but missed promotion to the top twelve on Saturday as 15th. Hart was close to the promotion places up until the fourth jump, but then fell behind.
With 313.20 points, he was 19.45 points behind the twelfth place. On Sunday his compatriot Anton Knoll will be in action solo from the tower. Hart was disappointed after his performance because he had expected to make it to the finals from the 3m board.
“I was good at it. It’s a shame that I made such a stupid mistake,” said the Viennese, who botched the fifth jump. “A stupid mistake actually. Started well, ended badly. The other jumps were very okay. You just have to do your jumps consistently, then the final is possible. I knew that. Unfortunately, one jump made the difference. The final would have been easy inside.”
Open water competitions started
Meanwhile, after days of turbulent weather, the open water competitions could start in Ostia near Rome. The 5 km competition was won by two favourites, 800 m European champion Gregorio Paltrinieri (52:13.5 min.) and Dutch Sharon van Rouwendaal (56:58.7). The Styrian Jan Hercog is named on Sunday (10 a.m.) over 10 km.