DIVING : China Continues Dominance on Final Day of Competition

China’s young divers continued their dominance of the Four Nation Alamo Challenge Saturday with Sun Shuwei’s victory on the men’s platform and Tan Shuping’s victory on the women’s three-meter spring board.

Germany’s Boris Lietzow won the other event, the men’s one-meter, on the final day of competition at Rose Bowl Aquatic Center.

With four dives over 3.0 in degree of difficulty, Sun, the platform gold medalist of the 1992 Olympic Games, scored 635.35 points, easily defeating runner-up Dmitry Sautin of Russia, who had 617.10.

The 17-year-old from Canton scored highest on his back 1 1/2 somersault with 3 1/2 twists.

Tan, the winner of Friday’s one-meter by a 2.8 margin, won the three-meter by 42.5 points. Her degree of difficulty, including a dive of 3.1, and three of 3.0, was superior to the eight-woman field.

“They are not easy dives,” Tan said through an interpreter. “Sometimes, I am a little bit afraid.”

The 15-year-old averaged scores of 7 1/2 on three of her four most demanding dives, but her entry was not as clean on the other, a reverse 2 1/2 somersault in the pike position.

“I just feel so-so,” Tan said, “because the last dive was not perfect.”

With finishes one place shy of Olympic and world championship berths, Lietzow, 24, was Germany’s not-ready-for-prime-time diver. That status appears to be changing based on his bronze medal-winning effort at the European Championships earlier this month and his victory here over teammate Peter Boehler.

Bryan Gillooly, a 17-year-old on the rise, won the bronze medal, one of only three medals won by Americans during the two-day meet.

“We’ve got a lot of work ahead of us,” U.S. Coach Dick Kimball said. “But I think we’ll be competitive by ’96. I think our kids will focus in on having the Olympics in the United States.”