For the first time in 68 years there will be an Irish diver competing in the Olympic games after Oliver Dingley qualified thanks to his performance at the Diving World Cup in Rio.
Dingley finished in 11th place, with the top 18 securing a spot in the summer Olympics, and his progress was live tweeted by Swim Ireland.
26 divers took part in the World Cup, and the Irishman's first dive put him in a strong position from the start.
Great 1st dive from @OliverDingley puts him 9th of 26 with 70.50 points! pic.twitter.com/264lUSxqfJ
— Swim Ireland (@swimireland) February 21, 2016
Ollie's 2nd dive pic.twitter.com/6EnSiTEujv
— Swim Ireland (@swimireland) February 21, 2016
After 2 rounds @OliverDingley has moved up to 10th place with 140.25 points! 4 rounds to go, come on Ollie!
— Swim Ireland (@swimireland) February 21, 2016
He even reached as high as 3rd place at one stage as he showed impressive consistency in his performance:
Round 3 dive from Ollie pic.twitter.com/VGDdUBdoSC
— Swim Ireland (@swimireland) February 21, 2016
4th dive for Ollie of 26 divers and he moves into 3rd with 287.25 points! He's nailing all of these dives! 2 to go!
— Swim Ireland (@swimireland) February 21, 2016
Dive no. 5 at total of 348.75 points pic.twitter.com/ZIpX3IaHZo
— Swim Ireland (@swimireland) February 21, 2016
Oliver Dingley is on the cusp of Irish sporting history! He goes into the final round in 5th, 18 will secure at spot for Ireland at #Rio2016
— Swim Ireland (@swimireland) February 21, 2016
He was left with a nervous wait to seal his place, but eventually it became clear that he had done enough:
It's a waiting game now! With 30 divers to go Ollie lies in 6th place. His last dive brought him to 415.05 points!
— Swim Ireland (@swimireland) February 21, 2016
He's done it! @OliverDingley has qualified a place for Ireland at the Olympic Games for the first time in 68 years!! @olympiccouncil
— Swim Ireland (@swimireland) February 21, 2016
In the end he finished in 11th place, a fantastic achievement, and we can now look forward to cheering him on in the Rio Olympics in the summer, an experience which is going to be new for a lot of Irish sporting fans.
Massive congratulations to Oliver, and a big thanks to Swim Ireland for their great coverage of the Diving World Cup.
