(Kyodo) Japanese hope Ken Terauchi finished a creditable eighth out of 12 in the men's 3-meter springboard final Tuesday.
Terauchi saved his best dive until last, scoring 80.65 points on his final attempt for a total of 634.47 at the Sydney International Aquatic Center.
"I wanted to go out with a bang, so I'm glad I nailed that last dive. I've got to do it more consistently because the top four are on a different level," said Terauchi, whose best performance to date was a runnerup finish at last year's Universiade in Spain.
Terauchi said that he would be more mature next time around, at the 2004 Olympics in Athens.
"I was looking to score over 600 points and then I began to feel that I could go much further," the 20-year-old Hyogo Prefecture native said. "I was getting good height off the board, but every time my opponents made a mistake, I made one too."