Jack Laugher And Chris Mears Win Gold Medal

 

Jack Laugher and Chris Mears claimed Team GB's first Olympic Games diving gold medal with a stunning performance in the men's synchronised 3m springboard competition. Laugher and Mears produced a series of fine dives and their final effort was enough to beat the American pairing of Michael Hixon and Sam Dorman by 4.11 points.

The wind and rain in Rio de Janeiro on Wednesday also affected the outdoor diving pool, but it did not appear to put off Laugher and Mears, who overtook the Chinese pairing of Cao Yuan and Qin Kai to lead at halfway.

They then proceeded to extend their lead with a score of 85.68 for an inward 3 1/2 somersaults with tuck and added 86.58 for their forward 2 1/2 somersault 3 twists, their toughest dive of the night. That left the Commonwealth and European champions 2.64 points in front going into the final dive but Hixon and Dorman put on the pressure with a stunning final dive scoring them 98.04.

Mears and Laugher kept their composure and scored 91.20 to leave them on a final total of 454.32 that the Chinese pair could not catch with their final effort, indeed struggling to 83.22 to hand silver to the United States pairing.