Jack Laugher and Chris Mears have successfully defended their Men’s 3m Synchro title to claim gold for Team England on the penultimate day of diving at Gold Coast 2018.
The pair were ranked outside of the top three after the opening two rounds of required dives but once their optional list unfolded their scores cruised away from the rest of field.
Laugher and Mears’ fifth-round dive, a Forward 2½ Somersaults 3 Twists Piked, scored a massive 92.43 points and guaranteed them Commonwealth gold.
Canada’s paring of Philippe Gagne and Francois Imbeau-Dulac scored 415.23 and claimed the silver medal. The bronze went to Australia’s Domonic Bedggood and Matthew Carter with a final score of 408.12.
“It was a fantastic performance and actually one of the best Commonwealth Synchro finals that I have ever seen,” said Laugher. “There were amazing performances from the Aussies and the Canadians.
“It was really difficult to come out here as champions from 2014 and to try and defend our title, my heart was pumping because I didn’t want to let down Chris.
Mears added, “It is also a pleasure to come out stand alongside your best mate and compete.
“We’ve had quite a limited amount of prep time, only three weeks so to get that result it is everything we wanted.”
This gold medal makes it a hattrick for Laugher at these Commonwealth Games after his earlier wins in the Men's 1m and 3m Springboard events.
Team England were also represented in the Men’s 3m Synchro by brothers Jack and Ross Haslam. The pair started well and were right in the mix for a medal but a dropped dive in the sixth and final round saw them drop to fifth, where they finished with 395.31 points.