University of Houston Athletics
Pakhalina Wins Gold on 3-Meter Board at European Championships
8/5/2002 12:00:00 AM | Swimming & Diving
Aug. 5, 2002
BERLIN, Germany - After establishing herself as possibly the nation's premier collegiate diver, University of Houston star Yulia Pakhalina continued her dominance at the international level last weekend.
The UH senior posted a score of 348.39 in the finals of the 3-meter springboard Friday at the 2002 European Championships in Berlin, Germany. Her score was more than 30 points better than second-place finisher Conny Schmalfuss of Germany.
Earlier in the Championships, Pakhalina teamed with Vera Ilyina to bring home a silver medal in the 3-meter synchronized diving competition.
Pakhalina, who successfully defended her NCAA national championship on the 3-meter board in March, was a model of consistency in her 3-meter dives, never scoring below 6.5 from the judges on a dive. She also posted three scores of 9.0, including one on her seventh and final dive.
The Penza, Russia, native made it to the finals after winning the preliminaries with a score of 329.94, more than 10 points higher than Ditte Kotzian of Germany.
Pakhalina wasn't the only Cougar working at the European Championships. Diving coach Jane Figueiredo is helping coach the Russian divers, while new head swimming and diving coach Mark Taylor is working with the Danish team before assuming his duties in Houston in mid-August.
Nearly 800 competitiors from 38 nations were scheduled to compete at the Championships. Pakhalina was one of 47 female divers, who will be competing in 10 events.
