Herrera Earns 1M Silver at World University Games
TAIPEI (USADiving.org) — University of Miami senior Briadam Herrera claimed America’s first diving medal at the 2017 World University Games in Taipei on Monday, finishing second in the men’s 1-meter event. The silver marks the second medal of his World University Games career, having previously won bronze on 1-meter in 2015.
The 2017 U.S. flag bearer for the Opening Ceremony totaled 449.25 points in the final, finishing only behind Yeongnam Kim (Republic of Korea) who scored 453.00 for gold.
Herrera opened his final with a back 2½ somersault tuck worth 72.00 points. He then followed with a forward 2½ somersault 1 twist pike that tallied 76.80 points, moving Herrera into second place after the second round. The Miami Hurricane then posted his highest-scoring dive of both the final and the entire day with 84.15 points on a forward 3½ somersault pike in round three, jettisoning himself into first place. Herrera then crafted a reverse 2½ somersault pike worth 72.00 points to maintain the top spot after four rounds of diving
His projection for a podium finish took a hit in round five as he posted a score of 66.30 on an inward 2½ somersault pike, a score that left him in third with one dive left. However, Herrera came through in the clutch in the final round, producing 78.00 points on a reverse 1½ somersault 2½ twist free to secure the silver medal.
Herrera automatically qualified for the final after taking second place in the preliminary event earlier in the day. He totaled 398.45 points in the preliminary, with only Russia’s Evgenii Kuznetsov ahead of him at 400.95. Kuznetsov went on to win bronze in the final with 434.20 points
Fellow Americans Joey Cifelli and Christo Law finished 18th and 21st in the preliminary round. Cifelli scored 332.40, while Law put up 305.20.
The next day of diving at the 2017 World University Games includes the women’s platform preliminary and semifinal, along with the mixed synchronized 3-meter final. Olivia Rosendahl will represent the red, white and blue in the women’s platform event, and the Texas Longhorn duo of Grayson Campbell and Meghan O’Brien will be in the mixed synchronized 3-meter final. The women’s platform preliminary starts the day at 10:00 PM EST (8/21)/10:00 AM TTZ (8/22).
Click here for full results.
For more updates, follow USA Diving on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
