Almost all the top divers including Chinese diving queen Guo Jingjing, Canadian "golden boy" Alexandre Despatie and Russian legend Dmitry Sautin are set to compete in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province at the third leg of World Series, they are unlikely to play high due to tiredness.

 

The inaugural FINA Diving World Series is reserved for the cream of the crop in the sport: the top eight from the World Championships in the individual events and the top six in the synchronized events.

 

The same elite squad had to rush from England to Mexico in the past two weeks, then finish their last stop of the circuit at Nanjing, China from September 15 to 16.

 

"I really feel tired," said springboard specialist Qin Kai on Friday. The duo world champion rested for nearly four months until July due to a hand fracture and felt difficult to keep in shape in the three-leg top event.

 

The well-known Russian veteran Sautin even felt worse as he suffered a back injury during the training of Thursday. The 33-year-old only warmed up for half an hour, then left the pool listlessly.

 

"I felt OK at the first two legs," explained Sautin, "But I got my back ached here. It's an old injury."

 

Despatie also battled an arm injury at last week's World Series in Mexico City, as the Canadian top diver pulled a muscle in his left arm during training.

 

The divers are going to compete in eight Olympic events during the two competition days.

 

(Xinhua News Agency September 15, 2007