The volcanic ash cloud hovering over Europe has forced Great Britain and FINA to move the third and final leg of the Diving World Series.
The event, originally scheduled to be contested in Sheffield, Great Britain April 23-24, will now be held in Veracruz, New Mexico on April 20-21. Veracruz was the location of the second leg of the series, which ended on April 17. The first leg of the series was held March 27-28 in Qingdao, China.
Volcanic Eruption in Iceland Affects Airports
The volcanic ash is the result of a volcanic eruption on April 14 under the Eyjafjallajokull glacier in Iceland. The eruption threw a cloud of ash nearly four miles high into the air, disrupting and preventing air travel across most of northern Europe. As a result, many divers are stuck in Veracruz, as they were not been able to travel into Great Britain.
The inability to host the final event in the World Series is a huge disappointment, said David Sparkes, the British Swimming chief executive officer.
"While this is a huge disappointment for British Swimming and fans of diving, the situation is beyond our control," Sparkes said. "To ensure the athletes can resume the competition we have reluctantly agreed to accept the generous offer of the Mexican Government and Federation to step in to help in what is clearly a challenging time for everyone in Europe."
Many British divers, who were looking forward to competing in front of the home crowd, have been stuck in Mexico since the conclusion of the previous World Series event. World Champion Tom Daley, Tonia Couch, Monique Gladding and Monica Sylvester are among those who have competed for Great Britain in the World Series so far. The home crowd advantage would have been beneficial for Couch, Gladding and Sylvester, as the three are sitting at sixth in the standings heading into the final event.
American Divers Also Stuck in Mexico Due to Flight Disruptions
American divers Thomas Finchum and Chris Colwill have spent the week in Veracruz, also. Before the final event, four more American divers will join them in Mexico. Those divers include David Boudia, Troy Dumais, Tory Ishimatsu and Ariel Rittenhouse.
So far, the United States has won several medals in the Diving World Series. In China, Dumais won a silver medal in the three meter event. The U.S. also brought home two bronze medals from Qingdao. In Veracruz during the second leg, Finchum and Nick McCrory won bronze in the synchronized 10-meter event. Also in Veracruz, Kelsi Bryant won a bronze medal in the women's 3-meter event. Bryant teamed up with Abby Johnston to win the bronze in the women's synchronized 3-meter event, also.
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References:
Lowery, Jennifer. Diving: Final leg of Fina World Series moved from Great Britain to Mexico. Teamusa.org. Accessed April 19, 2010.
Mackay, Duncan. Sheffield Diving World Series first event to be cancelled because of air crisis. insidethegames.biz. Accessed April 19, 2010.
Vinocur, Nicholas. Icelandic volcano eruption intensifies.Reuters News Service.
Kristen Nichols - Kristen is a freelance reporter and copywriter covering Olympic and Paralympic sport for Suite101.com. Kristen's love of sport developed ...
