Megan's bad luck continues

Megan Sylvester suffered some more bad luck over the weekend as she was unable to retain her British title due to an injury to her partner.

The 17-year-old from Tankersley won the 3m synchronised event at the British National Cup last year alongside Monique Gladding and were due to defend their crown in Southend on Friday.

But Gladding pulled her tricep muscle on Thursday and the pair had to withdraw from the competition.It is unknown how long Gladding will be sidelined for and whether the duo – who are trying to make the London Olympics this year – will be able to compete in the European Championships in March.

This setback is extremely frustrating for Sylvester who was looking forward to competing with Gladding for the first time in almost a year. The pair had been hotly tipped to make the London Olympics before Gladding hit her head on a diving board in Russia last February.

They have both competed individually since then but the event in Southend was supposed to be their return to synchronised action.

“It is another piece of bad luck for us and I am really disappointed,” said Megan.

“Hopefully Monique won’t be out for too long but we don’t really know what is going to happen in the future.”

Sylvester did compete individually at Southend in the women’s platform but failed to qualify for the final as she finished tenth with 238 points.

“I just wanted to see where I was at with the individual,” said Megan.

“I was disappointed not to make the final but I am working on a new dive that will hopefully allow me to do better in the future.”