Three in a row for diver

Press, 29 July 1976, Page 14

Three in a row for diver

NZPA-Reuter Montreal Klaus Dibiasi, of Italy, made Olympic history vesterday when he won his third Olympic high-board diving title at the Montreal Hympic pool.

Dibiasi, who won the title n Mexico and Munich, took his third title in Montrea with a superb series of K lives from the 10-metr< board. ihe fair-haired Italian, aged -28, had seemed in dan ger of being dethroned by the 16-year-old American discovery, Greg Louganis, who scored more points than the old champion in Tuesday’s preliminary series. Louganis, swarthy and slim, led the way for the first four dives, but then Dibiasi took over with a magnificent twisting and turning effort culminating in a one and a half somersault which earned him 74.82 points and rocketed him to the front. The Austrian-born Dibiasi, who won the Olympic silver medal in 1964 when Louganis was only four years old, then never looked back and ended his career by becoming the first man ever to win three Olympic high-board titles. Louganis won the silver medal and Vladimir Aleynick, of Russia, the bronze. Dibiasi, the world champion in 1973 and 1975, had Italian fans cheering wildly when he wrapped up his evening’s performance with a dazzling series of somersaults that earned him the maximum 10 points from one of the judges. Louganis, who had himself earned a 10 point marking with his third dive, saw his title hopes dissolve in the ninth series of dives when his legs slipped over too far to ruin his score line.

But the young Californian, who is coached by the 1948 and 1952 champion, SammyLee, showed the class and poise of a potential champion when he came back on his final dive to earn 76.56 points, the highest tally of the night.