Lichtenstein wins first gold for Team USA in men's 27m high diving at Singapore Worlds

SINGAPORE, July 27 (Xinhua) -- James Lichtenstein of the United States produced a clutch final-round performance to capture gold in the men's 27-meter high diving at the World Aquatics Championships here on Sunday.

The 30-year-old American delivered a near-flawless final dive to grab his first world title with a total of 428.90 points, edging out Spain's Carlos Gimeno, who had led throughout the competition, by just 3.6 points. Romania's Constantin Popovici, the 2023 Fukuoka world champion, earned the bronze medal with 408.70 points.

The competition, featuring 14 of the world's top high divers, marked the final day of the high diving program in Singapore.

Trailing throughout the event, Lichtenstein saved his best for last. His final dive earned a score of 143.10, propelling him past Gimeno to the top of the standings.

"A dream comes true," said Lichtenstein, who got silver at the 2024 World Cup in Bahrain. "Had a tough start to the season for me, but I've been training really hard. I knew my DD (degree of difficulty) is in the higher end of the range, but there are people who have higher DD than me, so I was going to put in the work that I needed to do." ■