Canadian diver Alexander Despatie said that he is trying to be at the same level with his Chinese counterparts. He had made it and is continue to hold it.

The 21-year-old led the men's three-meter springboard preliminary with a score of 486.65 points, leaving Chinese aces Qin Kai and He Chong to follow behind.

"I feel good. I'm very happy that I made it after four hours of competition," said Despatie after diving along with the other 45 participants in the preliminary.

"It's very hard to stay focused for the whole time and to react after 35 to 40 minutes between one dive and the other. But today I was feeling very comfortable on the board."

Despatie had grabbed silver in the men's three-meter springboard synchronized event on Monday. Although he said he was really happy for the result, the talented diver would not have been satisfied by far.

As one of the top divers in the world, Despatie has been the biggest threat to the Chinese dream team for years.

He notched up the gold in tower at the 2003 Barcelona World Championships and cheered up the home crowd by winning two world champion titles in springboard in Montreal two years ago.

Although Despatie missed most of last season due to injuries, he showed his good shape after arriving at Melbourne, especially in the competition on Thursday.

He settled the top position after four rounds and then never allowed the two archrivals from China to surpass him.

"I haven't competed at this level for a year. I came here without setting any specific goals, like a medal or a score. But I did very good and every step I will try to do a little better," said a light-hearted Despatie.

Despatie has made one step further for reigning in the springboard on Friday. No matter what the results will be, he will battle the Chinese divers again at the 2008 Olympic Game.

"A lot of people make too big deal about the Chinese divers. I keep saying they are going to be amazing, but it is our job to try and be at the same level. My job is to go to Beijing in the best shape that I can."

Editor: Donald