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Jack Laugher and Anthony Harding continued Britain’s perfect start in the diving pool, with four events entered and four medals now won. The first gold remains elusive but this is already Team GB’s record Olympics haul after Laugher and Harding scooped a well-earned bronze in the 3m synchro final with a string of consistent high-quality dives, topped off by a mesmerising sixth to seal a top-three spot.
It is Harding’s first taste of Olympic success and the 24-year-old stood up to the pressure, guided by his more experienced partner. For Laugher, this was his fourth Olympic medal across three Games, only one short of Tom Daley’s haul of five from up on the 10m board. At 29, the Yorkshireman has time to usurp his teammate as Britain’s most successful Olympic diver.
“Four medals from four is unreal,” said Laugher. “What we’ve achieved as a team is wonderful. There was so much pressure on us coming in with three from three and we know we could make it four from four. It’s a wonderful day and one to cherish forever.”
Once you accept that China are gonna China in a diving final, then the event distils down into a simple equation: seven teams going for the two remaining medals. In the end, the Chinese pair Wang Zongyuan – who won gold with a different partner in Tokyo – and Long Daoyi were pushed close as both Britain and silver medallists Mexico delivered.
It was tight after two rounds but in the third, the competition sparked to life. First the American pair suffered a disjointed dive when Greg Duncan stepped partially off the board on lift off, losing all spring and taking entirely different trajectories to the water thereafter. A score of 37.74 was terminal.
By contrast, Laugher and Harding delivered an immaculate forward two-and-a-half somersault with two twists, mirror images sliding into the water with barely a ripple. They were rewarded with a score of 82.62, one of the highest scores of the day, and led the standings at the halfway point.
Harding missed his entry slightly on fourth dive, but the British duo responded in round five with a clean forward two-and-a-half somersaults with three twists. Harding splashed the water as Laugher gave him a backslap, and a score of 85.41 propelled them into gold-medal contention with one to go.
As the final round began, Laugher paced behind the judge’s seats while Harding stretched his legs and shook his arms to keep warm. They watched as China’s Long Daoyi and Wang Zongyuan produced the highest score of the night, 95.76, to lock gold.
Britain’s pair nailed the final dive too, saving the best until last with an immaculate forward four-and-a-half somersaults rewarded with 94.62 points. They hugged, knowing they’d given this everything. It came down to Mexico’s final dive, and Laugher and Harding watched on as Juan Manuel Celaya Hernandez and Osmar Olvera Ibarra held their nerve, scoring 94.77 to pip the British pair to silver.
Next on Team GB’s hit list are the individual events. China will dominate those too, of course, but on this evidence Laugher will put up a serious fight. It is a history-making Olympics already, and the British team are not done yet.
