体坛英语新闻：Mexican diver Espinosa eyes Olympic medal

MEXICO CITY, April 19 (Xinhua) -- Mexicans like to say that national diving champ Paola Espinosa can defeat her rivals just by showing up in a bathing suit, but her Chinese coach Ma Jin says that beyond her good looks is an innate talent for diving off a platform.

Espinosa, world champion at the Rome Worlds in 2009, is Mexico's great hope to win a gold medal from the London Olympic Games, where she will try to seize first place from China's Chen Roulin.

"These games are to be enjoyed but with an eye towards something big, an individual medal," Espinosa said in an interview with Xinhua on Thursday.

She is currently the 10m synchro platform bronze medallist along with her partner Tatiana Ortiz, which they won in Beijing in 2008.

"Rome left me with a desire to dream. It gave me the opportunity to beat the Chinese divers and realize they aren't invincible. If I did it once, why not do it twice," she said.

Espinosa, born in 1987 in the northern city of Mexicali, on the border with the U.S., is confident of her talent.

The Mexicans, who have a tradition in diving that goes back to multi-medal winner Joaquin Capilla, are naturally good at it, believes Espinosa.

"It's a talent Latins have (so) maybe we don't need to do as many repetitions as the Chinese," she said.

The Mexican diver said her success is based on a combination of factors, including her knack for diving, her family environment and the experience of her coach Ma Jin.

"With the talent I have and the experience she has, I think we make a good team. If I didn't have a coach who knew me and gave me confidence, I wouldn't have achieved any of this. She arrived at the most difficult moment in my career, when I wanted to retire before Athens 2004," Espinosa said.

Espinosa first burst onto the scene at the Barcelona Worlds in 2003, where the 16-year-old took the bronze in the 3m springboard synchronized.

Since then, Espinosa's triumphs have been practically uninterrupted and some of them have been memorable, such as the first world championship won by a Mexican woman in Rome 2009.

Espinosa tried to defend her title in Shanghai Worlds last year, but her only took a bronze. Olympic champion Chen Ruolin claimed the gold, and 15-year-old Hu Yadan took the silver.

Ma Jin told Xinhua that after the Rome Worlds, Espinosa had lost her advantage in difficuty degree. Two of the dives that won Espinosa perfect scores in Rome three years ago no longer ranked as 3.4 DD, once the highest degree.

Nevertheless, armed with the same routine, Espinosa remains confident and enthusiastic.

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