Russian diver Dmitry Sautin was eliminated on Friday from the three-meter springboard in Mexico City's Federation International de Natation (FINA) World Series Diving 2nd round competition.

 

Sautin, seven times Olympic medal winner, lost the A-semifinal against China's He Chong (483.75 average) and Qin Kai (459.80), who qualified to the final together with Canadian Alexander Despatie (486.75) and Japanese diver Ken Tarauchi (451.15).

 

Sautin, 33, won the third place in FINA's World Series three- meter springboard competition's first round held in Sheffield, England on September 1-2 of 2006.

 

The final between the four aforementioned divers will be carried out Friday afternoon at Mexico City's Francisco Marquez Olympic Pool.

 

The winner in the three-meter springboard will receive a cash award of US$5,000, 2nd place will get 4,000 and third place 3,000.

 

The third round of FINA's World Series Diving will be held in Nanjing, China on September 15-16.

 

If one of the divers wins the same competition three times in-a- row in the World Series he will receive a 25,000-dollar bonus.

 

(Xinhua News Agency September 8, 2007)