Andrea scores World Junior title as GB diving team impress in Montreal

It was Spendolini-Sirieix who stole the plaudits on the penultimate day of competition, as the 18 year-old produced four impressively consistent dives in the Women’s A Platform Final - that coupled with her scores carried over from the prelims saw Andrea finish a staggering 33 points ahead of her nearest competitor, Renee Batalla of Canada, to end on a golden total of 460.15 points.

The European and Commonwealth Champion's highest score came from her Armstand Back 2 Somersaults 1 ½ Twists Free (6243D), lighting up Montreal’s Olympic Pool with 76.80 points awarded by the judges to send the athlete well on her way to taking her first ever World Junior crown. British compatriot Chloe Johnson also performing solidly in the final to finish fifth overall.

Speaking to FINA after her achievement, Spendolini-Sirieix was delighted with how she stepped up her performance for the final:

“[The prelims dives were] horrible, I lacked energy so my dives didn’t execute as I wanted them to. But in the final, I was pumped and ready. I wanted it, so I went for it. I’m really happy with the way I dove. It’s great! It’s my first and my last junior worlds. In fact, it’s my last junior competition, so to finish it on that is amazing.”

After Britain's excellent start to the meet over the opening four days, it was Tilly Brown who managed to bag the next in the series of British medals won in Montreal. The springboard specialist nailed a reverse 1 ½ Somersaults Pike (303B) to cement her place on the Women’s A 1m podium on day five the competition, scoring 388.10 points overall. Amy Rollinson also competed in the event, taking tenth place.

Jorden Fisher-Eames was next in line to add to the growing tally of silverware, and the 14 year-old never received an individual judges score of less than seven in the final of the Men’s B Platform. The best dive of Jordan's highly consistent series was a stunning Back 2 ½ Somersaults 1 ½ Twists Pike (5253B) which took him towards an overall score of 442.90 and a silver medal.

Combining for the Men’s 3m Synchro, Leon Baker and Hugo Thomas went dive-for-dive with in a battle with the USA pairing on day six for the final step on the podium. The British duo's final dive, a Forward 2 ½ Somersaults 2 Twists Pike (5154B),  was executed brilliantly under pressure scoring them 73.44 points - the highest individual scoring dive of the event - as they ultimately edged into the bronze medal position by just over two points on a closing total of 289.77. Baker previously recording an individual eighth place finish in thein the Men’s A 3m Final on the previous night.

With Spendolini-Sirieix’s triumph the only medal event action on day 7, the final day then followed. The High Diving Invitational, which runs concurrently with the overall championships, saw 14 year-old Archie Biggin set himself as the second best high diver of his age-group in the world. With two dives in the final of the Men’s B1 12m Platform, his highest individual score came in his first dive of Forward 3 Somersault Half Twist Tuck (5161C), scoring him 88.20 before an overall score of 279.00 placed him just behind the eventual winner. 

Biggin’s silver medal preceded the final event of the competition, as Robbie Lee went back up the steps to contest the final of the Men’s A Platform. In what proved to be a worthy curtain-closer, the 17 year-old’s penultimate dive of Back 3 ½ Somersaults Tuck (207C) earned him 79.20 points which gave him enough of a cushion to see off a late charge from Anton Knoll of Austria and take the bronze medal – and Britain's eighth of the competition. Lee's silver medal synchro partner, Euan McCabe, also contested the final and finished eleventh overall.

Check out FINA's event page for more coverage, with the full results here and playback of live streams available on the FINA YouTube channel.