+International head-to-head battle to highlight diving events+
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By Sandy Zinn 
SportsTicker Senior Editor 

JERSEY CITY, New Jersey (Ticker) -- American dominance in
Olympic diving is a thing of the past.  The rivalry between Tian
Liang of China and Russia's Dmitry Sautin is in the sport's near
future. 

The United States has won 125 of the 225 medals awarded in
Olympic diving, including 46 of 75 golds.  But Greg Louganis has
long since retired and another Mark Lenzi may not appear for a
while. 

That leaves a strong international men's contingent to compete
for the gold medals at Sydney, Australia.  Among them are Liang
and Sautin, who have combined to dominate the sport over the
last four years. 

Sautin, 26, is regarded as the best diver in the world, having
won gold medals in the platform and springboard events at the
1998 World Championships.  But he almost wasn't alive to enjoy
such success. 

In 1991, he argued with an attacker and was stabbed in the
stomach four times. Sautin almost bled to death but recovered
after two months in a hospital and won a bronze medal in
springboard during the 1992 Olympics. 

The 5-7 Sautin became an Olympic gold medalist four years ago in
Atlanta, beating Germany's Jan Hempel and another Chinese diver,
Xiao Hailiang, for top honors. 

He won both the platform and springboard at the 1998 Goodwill
Games and World Championships, then claimed the diving gold at
the 1999 European Swimming Championships.  But back problems and
Liang's emergence have forced him to share the spotlight. 

Liang enters the Olympics at the top of his game, having won
both events at the FINA Diving World Cup the last two years. He
also was second in the platform at the 1998 Worlds. 

Chinese men combined to win three of the six medals in platform
and springboard at Atlanta and are expected to stand out in
Sydney, with Yu Zhuocheng and Sun Shuwei avoiding the major ban
of Chinese athletes to join Liang. 

Mark Ruiz is the top American diver and the first since Louganis
in 1988 to qualify for both individual boards.  The 21-year-old
will be joined by 1996 Olympian David Pichler and Troy Dumais on
the U.S. squad. 

Lenzi was the only American male to win a medal four years ago,
claiming bronze in the springboard.  He won one of two medals
for American men in 1992 after Louganis combined for a
record-tying five medals between 1976-88. 

The United States also is not considered a favorite in the
women's events, which should be dominated by China and Ukraine. 

Fu Mingxia is the class of the field and a legend in the sport.
If she were to win a pair of gold medals in Sydney, the
22-year-old would become the first diver to earn five Olympic
golds and only the third with double victories at different
Games. 

The American women competing in Sydney will be Laura Wilkinson,
1996 Olympian Jenny Keim, Michelle Davison and Sara Reiling.
Wilkinson is the United States' best chance for a medal after
winning the platform gold at the 1998 Goodwill Games. 

The 2000 Olympics also could mark the end of the host's 76-year
medal drought in diving as Australia will try to take advantage
of a home-pool advantage and new synchronized events. 

On the conventional single platform and springboard, the
Aussies' best chance seems to be from the women, particularly
Chantelle Michell, who placed second on the 1-meter at the past
two World Cups and second on the 3-meter at last year's FINA
Grand Prix Super Final. 

Synchronized events represent the first addition to the Olympic
diving schedule since 1920.  On the springboard, divers dive off
adjacent boards at the same time, whereas on the platform, they
dive off the same platform. 

The diving competition, which will be held entirely at the
Sydney International Aquatic Center, begins September 22 with
the women's platform and concludes September 30 with the men's
platform. 

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