BEIJING – Mary Beth Dunnichay (Elwood, Ind.) and Haley Ishimatsu (Seal Beach, Calif./Indianapolis), the two youngest members of the U.S. delegation, used a strong final dive to jump to fifth place in the women’s synchronized 10-meter contest Tuesday at the National Aquatics Center.

China won its third gold of the Olympic Games after Chen Ruolin and Wang Xin finished with 363.54 points. Australia’s Briony Cole and Melissa Wu took the silver with 335.16 points, and Mexico’s Paola Espinosa and Tatiana Ortiz scored 330.06 for bronze.

Dunnichay and Ishimatsu, both 15, were in eighth place heading into the final round but once again capitalized on a successful back 2 ½ somersaults with 1 ½ twists in the last round. They scored 80.58 points on the dive to push them to fifth in the final standings with 309.12 points.

“We just stayed calm. The last time we were here (for the World Cup in February), we did that last dive for 80 points, so we knew we could do it,” Dunnichay said.

At the World Cup, which doubled as an Olympic qualifier and Beijing test event, the American teens were in 10th place heading into the last round. They scored 80.58 points at that same dive to push them into eighth place, enough to give the U.S. the final Olympic berth in women’s 10-meter synchro.

Ishimatsu will dive again next week in the individual 10-meter contest, which begins August 20.

Synchronized diving competition wraps up Wednesday with Chris Colwill ( Brandon, Fla./ Athens, Ga.) and Jevon Tarantino ( Boca Raton, Fla.) in the men’s synchronized 3-meter contest.

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