I managed (or I should say George managed) to score a ticket to the men's 3 meter springboard semi-finals. With that ticket I could also got to go to the prelims in the morning. This would be my biggest travel challenge so far in Shanghai. Unlike Hong Kong where most people speak at least some English, the number of English speakers in Shanghai is very small - especially among taxi drivers. Thus far I had always walked where I was going, been on a tour, or had a Chinese friend along. This was my true test.
The doorman at the hotel gave my morning cab driver directions to where I was going. I think he must have put some fear into him for he stopped four times to make sure he was taking me to the proper gate. So far so good. The real test would be coming home.
Arriving at the swimming and diving complex was awe inspiring. There are four buildings in the complex and each is an architectural masterpiece. The grounds are immense and just walking through gives you a thrill.
There were three security check points to get in. Once inside I had several people ask to help me find where I was going. Some where volunteers and others were spectators who figured I might like a bit of assistance. One of the volunteers even offered to take my photo.
She then found an elderly Chinese couple for me to follow (though I knew where I was heading by then). Everyone wants to know where you are from and I am surprised how many times people will ask if I am British or Aussie, even after hearing me speak.
Not knowing what to expect because the meet was outdoors, I came armed with a hat, sunglasses, sunblock and an umbrella. I didn't need any of them because the seating area is completely covered. They even have misters that blow up through the stands every few minutes.
The facility sits by the river and is top notch.
The morning prelims had 52 divers from all over the world each doing six dives. That's 312 dives for those of you counting. As you can imagine there were some great dives, some not so great dives and even a few ughh dives. But the crowd was appreciative and very courteous. There were two American divers (cheer, cheer), one from Hong Kong (who came in 50th, bless his heart), two from China (amazing) and one from Kuwait who looked to weigh in at about 12 ounces and terrified. But even though he struggled (came in 51 or 52) the crowd got behind him and I think he felt better by the end.
I took a few photos of the diving and a few movies, but mostly I just watched and enjoyed.
When the morning session ended, 18 divers advanced to the semi-finals including the two Americans. There was an hour break and it was a diving free-for-all practice session. Dives were being done on the 1 and 3 meter spring boards and the 3,5,7 & 10 meter platforms. I loved it.
In the semi-final rounds (6 more dives each), the Chinese divers, one of the Americans and a Russian were vying back and forth till about the last few rounds. The American was in second for a while. Then the Chinese divers turned on the afterburners and blew everyone out of the water. They were doing dives with very high degrees of difficulty usually reserved for the final rounds and opened up about a 30 point lead on the rest of the pack. At the end of the session the two Chinese divers were separated by .25 points heading into the finals.
It was a long but thoroughly enjoyable day and my real test was getting a taxi back to the hotel. My fail-safe plan was to have the taxi driver call the hotel for directions, but I didn't need to do that. I followed the signs for the taxi and found myself on a wide open corner with little traffic. Just when I was beginning to think I was in over my head, I found someone who pointed to a taxi stand. The woman there spoke a bit of English. That combined with my hotel key card with the address on it got me right back to where I started. I now have a bit more confidence that I can travel on my own.
As a post script to the diving, for the first time ever Chinese divers swept gold in every event, both men's and women's. They are truly thrilling to watch and I feel lucky to have had the chance to see a bit of this competition. Swimming is this week so I missed Michael Phelps. Maybe next time!
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