Stanford's Kristian Ipsen Wins Bronze in Diving

The two Californians came from behind to win the bronze in the final round of the diving competition in London.

Kristian Ipsen, 19, will be bringing back some heavy medal when he returns to class next fall at Stanford University.

The Walnut Creek native who now lives in Clayton won a bronze medal Wednesday in the 3-meter synchronized diving competition.  His diving partner, Troy Dumais, 32, is from Southern California.

To see a slideshow of the competition, click here.

The two Californians came from behind to win the bronze in the final round of the diving competition in London. Dumais and Ipsen got off to a slow start in the medal round and were in fourth place halfway through their six dives.

Then the pair nailed a reverse 2 1/2 somersault with 1 1/2 twists to claim the medal.

Qin Kai and Luo Yutong of China took home the gold. Ilya Zakharov and Evgeny Kznetsov of Russia won silver.

The Chinese team was the favorites in London. Qin Kai also won the gold in the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Results Table:

1. Luo Yutong/Qin Kai (China) 477.00 points

2. Evgeny Kuznetsov/Ilya Zakharov (Russia) 459.63

3. Troy Dumais/Kristian Ipsen (U.S.) 446.70

4. Illya Kvasha/Oleksiy Prygorov (Ukraine) 434.22

5. Chris Mears/Nicholas Robinson-Baker (Britain) 432.60

6.  Alexandre Despatie/Reuben Ross (Canada) 421.83

7. Yahel Castillo/Julian Sanchez (Mexico) 415.14

8. Qiang Huang/Bryan Nickson Lomas (Malaysia) 405.09

Ipsen is a sophomore at Stanford and competing in his first Olympics. His partner is considered an old-timer. This is Dumais' fourth Olympics.

 His Stanford coach Rick Schavone called Ipsen "a phenom" in the sport.

Below is a video of Ipsen and Krug preparing for the summer games.

View more videos at: http://nbcbayarea.com.

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