Craig Lord

From Craig Lord in Sydney

Tony Ali and Mark Shipman, of Britain, finished seventh in the 3m synchronised diving final today with a score of 296.64 points, well out of the running for medals.

The event was won by China's Xiao Hailiang and Xiong Ni with 365.58 points ahead of Russia. But it was the third place that raised eyebrows. Australian pair Dean Pullar and Robert Newbery were in seventh place behind the British after four of the five rounds. In the next dive, which did not appear to be in any way extraordinary, the Australians leapt to second.

Tony Ali: disappointing performance

A last dive, one that was obviously poor in terms of synchronisation, with Pullar and Newbery hitting the water at different times, with one diver half-a-metre further out from the boards than the other, was given a high enough mark to give the Australians the bronze medal.

The same pattern had unfolded in the women's 10m synchronised diving, the title won by China's Li Na and Sang Xue on 345.12 points, with the Australian pair of Loudy Tourky and Rebecca Gilmore taking the bronze medal behind Canada after scores that did not seem to reflect the quality of their diving.

Australia had never won a diving medal among women before, while the last time an Australian man won an Olympic diving medal was 1924.