Britain's top junior divers have showed their quality across two outstanding days of competition so far at the British Elite Junior Diving Championships in Southend.
Eleven finals were contested across Wednesday and Thursday, with 12 more to come on Friday and Saturday, as young athletes from across the country compete for junior titles and to test their lists against fellow age-group competitors in a hugely beneficial competition environment, in a year when a team is to be selected for the European Junior Championships Team in Bucharest in June.
Dive London's Hugo Thomas was in impressive form to claim two gold medals on the opening day of action at the Southend Leisure and Tennis Centre, opening up his week with victory in the Boys A 3m Springboard after tallying 533.90 points, thanks in part to a brilliantly-executed Forward 2 1/2 Somersaults 2 Twists Pike (5154B), which earned him an event-high 71.40 points.
Next to him on the podium was Leon Baker from Southampton Diving Academy, who finished on 523.60 points. His second-round Forward 3 1/2 Somersaults Pike (107B) secured 71.30 points from the judges. Euan McCabe (Plymouth Diving) won bronze.
Thomas and Baker - who are coached by Sam Buck and Lindsey Fraser respectively - then teamed up to win the Boys 14-18 3m Synchro title, scoring 276.72 overall to finish on top of the podium - a score helped by three rounds of 60+ point scores. City of Sheffield duo Arthur Turner-Rowe and Oscar Wilcox (255.84) took silver, with Southend Diving pair Connor Lano and Todd Geggus (238.98) winning bronze at their home venue.
In the Girls 14-18 3m Synchro event on Thursday, Desharne Bent-Ashmeil (Dive London) and Amy Rollinson (Luton Diving Club) continued their successful partnership by defending the crown they won back in October and also at February's British National Diving Cup - their first senior title.
Bent-Ashmeil and Rollinson scored a total of 281.70 points to top the pile, with their tally leaving them 37.62 points clear of Tilly Brown (Southampton Diving Academy) and Evie Smith (Crystal Palace Diving Club) in silver medal position. They were less than a point clear of Southampton Diving Academy's Maya Kutty and City of Leeds' Callie Eaglestone in bronze, on 243.66.
Up on the platforms, the Girls 14-18 Platform Synchro contest was a closely-fought one. City of Leeds duo Chloe Johnson and Jaeda Sharman ultimately got the best of it, finishing on 232.29 points for the junior title after closing their list out with a solid Reverse 2 1/2 Somersaults Tuck (305C) for 51.24 points. Their overall tally edged out Lily Chandler and Saeren Brett of Luton Diving Club and Dive London respectively, as they finished on 231.12. Guests Ruby Thorne and Aidan Heslop topped the scoring overall.
Johnson added individual honours from the platform to her synchro success, securing 384.50 points to take the Girls A Platform gold ahead of Hannah Newbrook (379.35), part of the Dive London group. Grace Ally (City of Sheffield - 373.40) rounded out the podium with guest Renee Batalla from Canada - one of several international athletes involved at the event - scoring the highest points tally overall.
Among other winners on the opening two days of competition was Oscar Kane from Luton Diving Club in the Boys 1m Springboard competition, while Amelie Underwood of Plymouth Diving won the Girls B equivalent. The Girls C 1m final was won by Juliette John of Crystal Palace Diving Club on 290.75, with Skye Fisher-Eames (Luton Diving Club) narrowly pipping Scarlet D'Mellow of Edinburgh Diving Club to the silver medal.
There was an all-City of Sheffield takeover of the podium for the Boys C Platform final, as Robbie Wood (285.45) took the title, with clubmates Simeon Greig (274.15) and Sebastian Willcox (274.00) taking silver and bronze respectively at the end of a brilliant competition.
Oliver Covell and Bryn James of Southampton Diving Academy won the Boys 14-18 Platform Synchro gold, with Crystal Palace pairing Phoebe Morgan and Juliette John topping the standings in the Girls 9-13 3m Synchro.
The three age-group categories at the Elite Junior event are: Group C - 13 years and under in 2022; Group B - 14-15 years old in 2022; Group A - 16-18 years old in 2022.
The Elite Junior Diving Championships continue across Friday and Saturday, with live coverage on the British Swimming YouTube channel here. Watch to see brilliant competition and the result of hours, weeks, months and years of dedication and drive from the next generation of diving stars.
For full results, click here.