August 18, 2008	Monday	Sha'aban 15, 1429

BEIJING, Aug 17: China’s Guo Jinging became the most successful female diver in Olympic history on Sunday as she leapt away from a top-class field to win the women’s three-metre springboard gold medal.

Her triumph in front of her home fans meant she broke the record set by legendary Chinese diver Fu Minxia, who won five Olympic medals in her career.

And Guo also made history by becoming the first diver to sweep both individual and synchro gold in two consecutive Olympic Games.

She had already the syncro title here after winning with partner Wu Minxia, who took the bronze medal in the individual event here on Sunday.

Russia’s Julia Pakhalina separated the two Chinese divers by taking the silver medal although she was more than 16 behind champion Guo.

The photogenic 26-year-old, whose high-profile reported relationships in recent years have made her prime gossip-column fodder, said before the Games that she would retire after the Olympics.

But she played down the comments down after her win.

China has now won five-out-of-five diving golds in its quest to clean sweep all eight.—AFP