U.S. Olympic diving champion David Boudia took silver behind China’s Qiu Bo for a third straight World Championships in Kazan, Russia, on Sunday.
“This competition was exactly what I was looking for,” Boudia said, according to USA Diving.
Boudia, who in 2012 became the first U.S. Olympic diving gold medalist since 2000 by upsetting Qiu, was no match for his rival in Kazan. Qiu won by 26.80 points.
“This victory means a lot to me,” Qiu 22, said, according to Reuters. “I made almost no mistakes, but I will try to improve. I hope that I will perform better at the Olympics.”
Boudia comfortable won silver, by 22.25 points over Tom Daley, the British diver who took London 2012 bronze.
Stunningly, Chinese star Yang Jian was 10th, 135.80 points off Qiu’s pace.
The U.S. finished the World Diving Championships with two medals from Boudia and from Michael Hixon in the 1m springboard, which is not an Olympic event.
Video: Diver lands on face at Pan American Games
Koda says, "ahhhh that was a close one!!" Exciting final today @ World Champs #silver #Kazan2015 #praiseHimnotme pic.twitter.com/BX5vKMsW6d
— David Boudia (@davidboudia) August 2, 2015
