OLYMPICS LONDON 2012: Daley sneaks into 10m semis, Waterfield crashes out

By Sean-Paul Doran, Sportsbeat, London 2012

GREAT Britain’s Tom Daley has sneaked through to Saturday's 10 metres platform diving semi-final despite a below-par performance in the preliminary round.

SAFE ENOUGH: Tom Daley left it late to secure his place in the semi-final but his synchro diving partner Pete Waterfield could not progress with him

Daley could only manage 448.45 and a 15th placed finish as he paid the price for a poor penultimate dive while fellow Brit Pete Waterfield failed to make the 18-man semi-final.

Waterfield, who won a silver medal in the 10m synchronised diving in Athens, scored a disappointing 412.35 to finish 23rd from the field of 32.

Daley’s stood in a dangerous 16th place facing his final dive but secured his place in tomorrow’s semi-final with a clean 84.14 but will have to improve to make the 12-man final.

China’s Qiu Bo finished top of the preliminary round standings with 563.70 to lay down a marker for the rest of the competition, while his compatriot Lin Yue finished second with 532.15.

© Sportsbeat 2012