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Weekend of World Cup Success for British sport

Jessica Whitehorn - 25/02/2008

Livingston won the first World Cup gold of her career
Matchtight

An exciting weekend for British sport saw several World Cup medals claimed - including Katy Livingston winning modern pentathlon gold - as well as Olympic qualification for young diver Tom Daley.

As well as Livingston's victory in the World Cup in Cairo, British number one snowboarder Zoe Gillings took silver in the FIS World Cup Snowboardcross competition in Japan, as did Sally Conway in the -70kg class at the Judo Hamburg Super World Cup. Meanwhile, in addition to securing his place in Beijing, 13 year old Tom Daley and his synchronised diving partner Blake Aldridge won bronze at the FINA Diving World Cup in Beijing.

Livingston secured the first World Cup win of her modern pentathlon career in the first World Cup series event of 2008 in Cairo. The 24-year old has already achieved the qualifying standard for the Beijing Olympics along with team-mate Heather Fell, who finished 16th in the competition. In the men’s competition Sam Weale finished 11th in one of his best World Cup performances to date, adding vital Olympic ranking points for his Beijing qualification bid. The British team will be competing on home soil at the end of March in the third round of the World Cup at Millfield in Somerset, an event supported by UK Sport’s World Class Events Programme.

In a weekend that saw Kristan Bromley claim the Bob Skeleton World Championship title, snowboarder Zoe Gillings also reached the podium when she finished in second place at the FIS World Cup in Japan. Gillings’ success came despite variable snow conditions and a challenging lane allocation in an impressive performance that saw her pass by Mellie Francon of Switzerland and Lindsey Jacobellis of the USA on her way to take the silver behind Maelle Ricker of Canada. Gillings said: “It’s amazing to be back on the podium, and I’m really pleased I was able to pass two girls and catch up to Maelle. I’d really like to take gold next time.” The next World Cup event for Gillings will take place in Lake Placid on 1 March.

Following Sally Conway's silver in the judo World Cup in Hamburg, she is now eighth in the European rankings. However, she requires 5th place to secure qualification for Bejing and so her performance in the Warsaw World Cup next weekend and European Championships will be crucial. The GB team currently have three athletes qualified for Beijing and Craig Fallon, Sarah Clark and Michelle Roberts are also currently in a position to qualify based on their rankings.

Teenage diver Tom Daley not only won a bronze medal in the synchronized dive in the Olympic pool in Beijing this weekend but also booked his place to return to the venue in August for the Olympics. Following his medal-winning performance with partner Blake Aldridge on Friday which also secured a place in the event for the British team in Beijing, Daley followed this with a seventh place finish in the individual 10m discipline, ahead of Athens synchro silver medalist and team mate Peter Waterfield in eighth place. This qualified both British divers for Beijing and made Daley the youngest ever British male to qualify for the Olympic Games.

Daley said: “I’m going to go to the Olympics and enjoy every minute of it. It’s going to be an amazing experience and one that I was desperate to have before the London Games. Beijing for me will be all about gaining experience.”

Hayley Sage and Tandi Gerrard also qualified Britain for a place in the women’s 3m synchro in Beijing following their best-ever performance.