(BEIJING, August 15) -- Defending Olympic champion Guo Jingjing of China finished first in the preliminaries of Women's 3m Springboard with a total score of 373.90, holding off second-place finisher Julia Pakhalina of Russia by more than 15 points. Blythe Hartley of Canada came in third with 350.65 points, while the second half of China's Synchronized Springboard gold medal duo, Wu Minxia, is not far behind with 349.45.

　　Eighteen of the 30 divers have qualified to compete in the semifinal, which takes place at 8 p.m. (UTC/GMT +8) on August 16. The event will conclude on August 17.

　　Guo and Wu successfully won the Synchronized 3m Springboard event on the first day of diving competitions and are hoping to extend China's Diving gold medal streak to five. Guo has said that she will retire after the Beijing Games.

　　Pakhalina, silver medalist in the same event at the Athens Olympic Games, clinched second place with a consistent performance, while Canadian veteran Blythe Hartley, who came in second at this year's FINA Diving World Series in Nanjing, has put herself into medal contention in what may also be her last Olympics Games.

　　Chantelle Newberry of Australia was the gold medalist in the Women's 10m Platform in Athens. Though she will not be defending the Platform title in Beijing, the mother of two placed 15th in the preliminary round of this event, keeping alive her hope of another Olympic medal.

　　Sharleen Stratton, World No 2 in the Individual Springboard, finished the day in 13th and will have to improve her performance if she hopes to reach the podium. She won bronze at the 2008 Word Cup in Beijing and has three separate second-place finishes in Grand Prix competitions this year.

　　Women's Springboard preliminary round standings:

　　1. China -- Guo Jingjing, 373.90 points

　　2. Russia -- Julia Pakhalina, 358.15

　　3. Canada -- Blythe Hartley, 350.60

　　4. China -- Wu Minxia, 349.45

　　5. Mexico -- Laura Sanchez, 334.35

　　6. Italy -- Tania Cagnotto, 332.90

　　7. Ukraine -- Olena Fedorova, 323.75

　　8. United States -- Christina Loukas, 312.60

　　9. Germany -- Katia Dieckow, 302.70

　　10. Canada -- Jannifer Abel, 300.75

　　11. United States -- Nancilea Foster, 300.15

　　12. Sweden -- Anna Lindberg, 294.75

　　13. Australia -- Sharleen Stratton, 288.00

　　14. Italy -- Maria Elisabetta Marconi, 286.10

　　15. Australia -- Chantelle Newberry, 284.85

　　16. Germany -- Ditte Kotzian, 282.80

　　17. Mexico -- Jashia Lura, 276.85

　　18. Hungary -- Nora Barta, 276.15