- See the astonishing moment when Italy’s Maia Biginelli nearly hit her head on the diving board
- The audience was left in disbelief after witnessing the ‘dangerous’ near-accident
- A BBC commentator criticized the judges, demanding they ‘perform their role’
An Italian diver narrowly avoided a severe head injury during a ‘dangerous’ dive, shocking both the audience and commentators.
Gasps echoed through the Paris Aquatics Centre as Maia Biginelli’s head nearly struck the board during the women’s platform semi-final on Monday.
It was a close call for the Italian as she executed a challenging 3.2-difficulty three-and-a-half somersaults inward dive in the tuck position.
BBC commentator Leon Taylor criticized the judges for their lack of action and failure to penalize her appropriately.
‘Judges, it’s time to step up,’ stated the former British Olympic diver, who has competed in three Games and secured a silver medal in 2004.
Italian diver Maia Biginelli came within a whisker of smashing her head against the platform
The crowd gasped at the ‘dangerous’ routine which could have ended in disaster for her.
‘You didn’t address this in the morning. Your obligation is to ensure safety now. That dive was incredibly dangerous.
Her hair nearly grazed the diving board; she should face significant penalties for that. It was almost a direct hit.
What are the judges observing from their seats? What are they watching?
There is a duty of care in this sport to protect the athletes. Penalties must be enforced. Coaches should also be vigilant.
The judges were not overly generous with their scores. Biginelli received a score of 41.60—low, although not her worst—placing her last in the semi-final.
As for the British competitors, it was a mixed outcome in the semi-finals: Andrea Spendolini-Sirieix advanced to the final while Lois Toulson narrowly missed out.
The duo had won bronze in the women’s synchronized 10m platform competition last week, yet only Spendolini-Sirieix will compete in the individual final at 2pm today.
Former British Olympian and BBC commentator Leon Taylor urged the judges to ‘do their job.’
Andrea Spendolini-Sirieix qualified for today’s final, finishing third behind China’s synchro champions.
Lois Toulson was eliminated from the semi-finals but may still serve as a reserve in the final.
Spendolini-Sirieix, the daughter of First Dates chef Fred Sirieix, placed third with a score of 367, closely following the Chinese synchronized champions Quan Hongchan and Chen Yuxi.
However, Toulson finished in 13th place with a score of 278.5, making her the first reserve for the final, which features only 12 competitors.
