What a year it has been for 15-year-old Lois Toulson of Great Britain. The youngster started 2015 by becoming national champion in the platform, and on Thursday she capped that by winning gold at the Baku 2015 European Games.
Toulson did it the courageous way, too, knowing that she had to produce a high-scoring final dive to make sure she beat Russian Anna Chuinyshena.
The judges' flashed up a series of nines as the back two-and-a-half somersault with one-and-a-half twists was voted the best dive of the competition to give her 84.80 points.
Chuinyshena had to settle for silver ahead of fellow 14-year-old Elena Wassen of Germany on an evening when the unpredictability of junior diving was spectacularly illustrated.
Russia's pre-event favourite Yulia Timoshinina could not put a foot wrong during the preliminary round, but that is where she left her form.
A disastrous opening dive, in which she half-landed on her back, had the crowd groaning in sympathy for the 17-year-old. She could not make up the lost ground and finished fifth.
Toulson's gold followed a bronze by British team-mate James Heatly in the 1m springboard.
"It's been a great day for British diving," said Heatly, who watched the women after his event was finished.
(baku2015.com)
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