Hometown hero Despatie wins

MONTREAL — Teenage girls screamed in the stands each time the dark-haired, stubble-faced diver walked out on the springboard.

Fans waved flags and cheered loudly when their hometown hero surfaced.

Somehow, in the middle of the chaos, Alexandre Despatie tuned out the noise and turned in a dominating performance, winning the 3-meter springboard at the World Swimming Championships on Tuesday night.

“I had the energy of the crowd and I could feel how happy people were,” said Despatie, who had goosebumps before each dive. “Today is a day I’ll never forget.”

Making it memorable for the 20-year-old Montreal resident was the intense crowd support, especially when he earned two perfect marks of 10 on his third dive.

Despatie finished first with 813.60 points against a stellar field that included defending world champion Alexander Dubroskok of Russia and 2003 silver medalist Peng Bo of China.

His point total was the highest at the world championships, bettering Dubroskok’s winning score of 788.37 two years ago in Barcelona.

“The whole 800-point barrier was something I thought wouldn’t happen,” Despatie said. “I’ve been close and other guys have been close, but I was the lucky one. What happened for me is just unbelievable.”

American Troy Dumais earned the silver medal with 752.76 points. He Chong of China took the bronze with 730.77.

Despatie led after the preliminaries and semifinals.

A grinning Hartley shared a bear hug with Despatie, who blew kisses to the crowd and pumped his right arm in the air.

Diving, water polo and synchronized swimming were delayed at least 20 minutes because of driving rain that pelted the athletes and spectators, who huddled under umbrellas at the open-air venues.

In women’s water polo preliminaries, the United States was upset 9-8 by Hungary.

They must beat China on Thursday to keep alive their hopes of advancing to the next round.