RIJEKA, Croatia, Aug. 21 (Xinhua) -- Canada and Mexico claimed the first gold medals of the 2026 World Aquatics Junior Diving Championships here on Friday, while China's Chen Xiangling took bronze in the girls' 1m Group B event.
Canada's Samuel McCaffrey and Kash Tarasoff won the boys' synchronized 3m springboard title after the competition was interrupted by heavy rain.
Russia's Ivan Sautin, the son of eight-time Olympic diving medalist Dmitry Sautin, partnered with Matvei Pomoshnikov to finish second, while Germany's William Ackmann and Finn Awe took bronze.
In the girls' 1m Group B event, Mexico's twin sisters Mia Cueva Lobato and Lia Cueva Lobato took gold and silver respectively, with Mia edging Lia by just 0.05 points.
China's 15-year-old Chen ranked second after the preliminary round before finishing third overall.
Chen said after the competition that her focus had simply been on performing at her best. "This morning, I just wanted to be the best version of myself," she said. "I didn't think too much about the dives."
Friday's mixed team final was postponed due to an intense thunderstorm.
Two finals are scheduled for Saturday, with China's Jiang Yuehan and Yuan Qingcheng competing in the girls' synchronized platform event and Nie Jun in the boys' 3m Group A event.
The championships run from August 21 to 28, with divers from 46 countries and regions competing for 17 gold medals. ■
