Despatie coping well with the pressure

Canada's Alexandre Despatie, a Commonwealth Games champion when he was only 13, feels the pressure a little more now but he handled it superbly on Thursday to win another diving gold.

Despatie, the youngest gold medallist in Commonwealth Games history when he won the 10-metre platform crown in Kuala Lumpur in 1998, faltered on the second dive of the six-dive men's one-metre springboard final but held his nerve to bounce back for a resounding victory.

"I've been through a lot of different experiences in four years," the 17-year-old Montreal-born diver said at a media conference after his triumph.

"Four years ago I was a little bit innocent. I was just there to dive and do my thing. I didn't really know what was going on. Now I have gained some maturity.

"I see the competition in maybe a different way now. I used to really not care about what I did. I just dived.

"But since then I became a figure for younger divers and for Canada. People expect results from me and it's a pressure I didn't have when I was younger. I need to learn to cope with that."

TREBLE CHANCE

Despatie, who is attempting a sweep of all three men's diving titles in Manchester, said he wanted to have fun at the Games and do his best.

"I've had a couple of attitude problems in the past. I'm having a lot more fun than I used to. I'm not demanding so much of myself," he added.

"I'm 17 years old. I've been diving for 12 years. I know I'll be diving till 2008. After that I'll see what I want to do. It's a lot of years, a lot of work... But I love diving, so I can't say I'm going to quit in 2008."

He said earlier he was trying not to think about a treble bid.

"I'm not diving for the medals. If I get out of here with three medals I'll be very happy but I'm not fixing on the medals. It's a good start. Tomorrow is another day."

On Friday he contests the three-metre springboard and on Saturday the 10-metre platform.

Fourth on the platform at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, Despatie took the silver medal on the 10-metre board at the 2001 world championships in Fukuoka, Japan. He would still be only 23 at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

ALLY SILVER

England's veteran Tony Ally, 29 next month, gave the Canadian teenager a run for his money and took a well deserved silver, urged on by family, friends and home fans.

"The crowd works, not just for me but for everybody. They like me, I like them. We work together as a team: public and athlete," Ally, the 1999 European three-metre springboard champion, said.

"I came to the Commonwealth Games to achieve a performance. I have been in the sport for a very long time and I am a perfectionist as a person and as an athlete. A big performance means more to me than a medal."

At the final, son Jacob, 10, sported a T-shirt which proclaimed an encouraging "Go for it Dad".

"I'm just happy I've got the result to take home for him... I spotted him in the crowd," Ally said.