Australian divers set to train in Yorkshire for London Olympics

DIVING stars from Down Under are the latest athletes to choose Leeds as their training base ahead of the London 2012 Olympic Games.

It has been announced that Diving Australia will be sending a group of around nine divers to train at the Aquatics Centre at the John Charles Centre for Sport after choosing Leeds as the preferred location to complete their final preparations in July before heading to London.

The squad coming to Leeds is expected to feature superstar Matthew Mitcham, who is the reigning Olympic 10-metre champion and a major rival of Britain’s own gold medal hope Tom Daley.

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Mitcham, 23, from Brisbane, shot to prominence when he caused a sensation at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing by recording the highest single-dive score in Olympic history in the final round to snatch the gold medal.

Also likely to be in the squad coming to Leeds is 32-year-old Loudy Wiggins, who is attempting to qualify for a fourth Olympic Games after coming out of retirement.

Mary Godden, chief executive officer of Diving Australia said: “The Aquatics Centre is a world-class venue and the Australia team is looking forward to using Leeds as a ‘home base’ during our build-up for the Olympics.”

Leeds will also be hosting divers from Russia and the United States at the Aquatics Centre at the John Charles Centre for Sport. There will also be athletes from Serbia, Canada and Holland going to Leeds ahead of the 2012 London Olympic Games and Paralympic Games, while a team of approximately 300 athletes and officials from China will be using the city as its European pre-games training base.

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