The next major event at which the FINA Development Center divers performed was the Russian National Championships, held in Kazan, within the walls of the "Aquatics palace".

From May 28 to June 2, the best divers from Russia competed, for Russian athletes this tournament is the main one for the necessary trials for the Olympic Games in Tokyo.

For the FINA Center fellows, this start is regarded as a good preparation, to feel sense of a competitive atmosphere, as well as the construction of a new dive program.

According to the results of the athletes themselves, as well as the assessment of the coaching staff, we can say with confidence that the Russian Championship for the scholarship holders was successful, even despite the fact that they performed only in the preliminary stages (outside of the Russian qualification).

1) Frandiel Gomez Vargas (Dominican Republic) performed with the most intense program in two springboard disciplines.
1 m (springboard) – 319.10 points and 5th place in the preliminary stage
3 m (springboard) - 311.95 points and 16th place in the preliminary stage

2) Carlos Ramos (Cuba)
10 m (platform) – 381.40 points and 6th place in the preliminary stage

3) Alejandro Solarte (Colombia)
10 m (platform) – 395.25 points and 5th place in the preliminary stage

4) Oscar Ariza (Venezuela)
10 m (platform) – 343.20 points and 10th place in the preliminary stage

5) Sebastian Konecki (Lithuania)
1 m (springboard) – 239.06 points

6) Irakli Sakandelidze (Georgia)
1 m (springboard) – 231.95 points

Almost the entire team performed in the Russian Nationals, with the exception of the recently injured Jesus Gonzales from Venezuela.

After the competition, Alejandro, who scored the most points on the 10-meter platform, left a small comment.

"For our team, this championship is a good opportunity to compete with some of the best dicers in the world, like Schleicher, Kuznetsov, Bondar, and others. And it was also important to practice some of your difficult dives, to see how the Russian judges would evaluate them. As it is, I am generally happy with the results, as is the whole team. Thank you very much to our coaches Pavel and Nadezhda and for everyone, it is clear that they are doing a good job. And most importantly, there is still a lot to learn…»

There are 50 days left until the Olympic Games in Tokyo, which means that already now our two contenders need to focus on their competitive preparation and the last Russian Championship was a good help.