WSPN Beijing 2008: Men's Synchronized 10M Platform Diving

From inside the beautiful structure that is the Water Cube comes Men's Synchronized Diving, an event which requires extreme precision along with quality individual and team dives. Note that the maximum possible points increases as the degree of difficulty increases. Below is a short description and analysis of each dive along with the respective score.
Daley/Aldridge(GBR) - Forward 1 1/2 Somersault Dif 2.0 - Solid execution by the young British team. As Aldridge heads into the water his arms are very much out of sync, and he makes an undesirable splash. 52.80.
R2: Inward 1 1/2 Somersault Dif 2.0 - Daley hits the water just before his teammate and once again Aldridge makes an undesirable splash. 50.40.
Hausding/Klein(GER) - Forward 1 1/2 Somersault Dif 2.0 - The German team comes in with a history of recent success, having won a silver medal in the same event at the 2008 World Cup, and with Klein having won a silver medal in the individual platform. Klein made all his movements slightly before Hausding, otherwise this would have been a great dive. 52.80.
R4: Back 3 1/2 Somersault Dif 3.6 - Hausding bends his knees slightly before Klein's on the platform, and the two cannot recover. The most noticable difference is that Hausding's feet are spread apart during the somersaults and Kelin's are touching. Both cannot finish vertically and make matching giant splashes. 71.28.
R5: Reverse 3 1/2 Somersault Dif 3.4 - Hausding and Klein give a decent individual performance and a strong synchronized performance in a great rebound from Round 4. Both had spread leg tucks and large splashes. 88.74.
R6: Back 2 1/2 Somersault 2 1/2 Twists Dif 3.8 - Coming into the final round in third place, the Germans need an exceptional dive to solidify their medal hopes, and they deliver with the best synchronized dive of the evening, and manage a very high score even though their individual dives were not extraordinary. The amazing effort on the last two dives earns them the silver medal. 96.90.
Finchum/Boudia(USA) - Forward 1 1/2 Somersault Dif 2.0 - A new wave of young Americans who have been diving together in Indianapolis for seven years. Finchum puts his hands together noticeably before Boudia does, even in real time speed. 51.60
R2: Amazing dive in the second round, quite improved from the first round, with the most notable mistake being that Boudia closes his hands slightly earlier going into the final part of the dive. 54.60.
R3: Back 2 1/2 Somersault 1 1/2 Twists Dif 3.4 - The individual dives are well done in the third round, yet the timing is out of sync, as Finchum spinds faster than his teammate and makes the seubsequent movements quicker. 80.58.
R4: Reverse 3 1/2 Somersault Dif 3.4 - The American team seems to grow with each dive, and this one proves no exception to the rule. Boudia beings turning slightly early, yet they finish strong by hitting the water at the exact same time. 82.62.
R5: Inward 3 1/2 Somersault Dif 3.2 - Despite good synchronization, Finchum creates a splash by turning slightly past vertical, much too large to merit a high score, and the Americans fail to break 80 points on their second to last dive. 77.76.
R6: Back 2 1/2 Somersault 2 1/2 Twists Dif 3.8 - An exceptionally difficult dive for such a young team, still Finchum and Boudia handle it very well. Both divers have difficulty with a vertical entry, Finchum moreso than Boudia, and this mistake costs them a medal in the final round, which would have been the first American medal in the event. 93.48.
Yue/Liang(CHN) - Forward Dive Dif 2.0 - The talented Chinese team plays the role of favorite very well. They come very close to exactly mimicing eachother's movements and enter the water as smoothly as possible. 57.00
R2: Inward Dive Dif 2.0 - Near perfect execution on this dive, that's all that need be said. 59.40.
R3: Back 2 1/2 Somersault 1 1/2 Twists Dif 3.4 - A very well synchronized dive, with Yue entering the water a little earlier and Liang making a large upward splash. 89.76.
R4: Inward 3 1/2 Somersault Dif 3.2 - The team makes up for poor tucks and lack of synchronization with a clutch, vertical finish that yields minimal splashing. 86.40.
R5: Reverse 3 1/2 Somersault Dif 3.4 - Yue's midsection hits water before Liang's hands hit water, and average individual dives yield and average result. 86.70.
R6: Back 2 1/2 Somersault 2 1/2 Twists Dif 3.8 - Great synchronizaton atones for a poor dive (crossed feet and a non-vertical entry) by Yue. Even though this is not the best dive from the Chinese team, their score creates a cushion that secures them Olympic Gold. 88.92.
Galperin/Dobroskok(RUS) - This pair dove together in Athens and finished second to the Chinese team in last year's World Championships. Galperin's arms are by his side and Dobroskok's are perpendicular to his body as the somersault. Dobroskok hits the water well before his teammate. 53.40.
R3: Back 2 1/2 Somersault 1 1/2 Twists Dif 3.4 - The Russians pull out an interesting stunt by deciding to twist in opposite directions, which can go over differently with different judges, and they come together very cleanly for the final part of the dive. The judges do not seem to disapprove of the decision. 86.70.
R4: Inward 3 1/2 Somersault Dif 3.2 - Impeccable synchronization and matching vertical finishes highlight one of the best dives to this point in the competition, as the Russians hold on to second place after four rounds. 88.32.
R5: Reverse 3 1/2 Somersault Dif 3.4 - Galperin showcases his individual talent in this dive, but Dobroskok kicks his legs back off the platform much later that his teammate, and the proceeds to enter the water with legs horizontally, resulting in a costly splash. 70.38.
R6: Back 2 1/2 Somersault 2 1/2 Twists Dif 3.8 - Dobroskok twists much faster than Galperin, and the two are out of sync as all of Galperin's movements going into the water happen first. In spite of their efforts, the Russians cannot overcome the round five blunder, and walk away with the bronze medal. 90.06.