Jack Laugher claimed the third Olympic medal of his career after an enthralling 3m springboard diving competition in Tokyo – completing his set with a hard-fought bronze.
Laugher had already won silver in the event in Rio five years ago, adding to his 2016 gold in the 3m synchro with Chris Mears.
He qualified third from the morning’s semi-final at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre, behind only Chinese duo Xie Siyi and Wang Zongyuan – who combined to take 3m synchro gold earlier in the Games – but stepped things up in the afternoon’s final.
“This means everything to me, it's been the worst two years of my life," said 26-year-old Laugher, from Harrogate.
"After 2019 World Championships and failing to make myself a world champion, embarrassing myself with my final dive and the mistakes and failure I had there, it crushed me, it really crushed me.
🥉@JackLaugher wins his third Olympic medal.#TeamGB pic.twitter.com/kfZETDr6tF
— Team GB (@TeamGB) August 3, 2021
“It put me in a place that was just terrible, I cried myself to sleep quite a few times, I had a lot of sleepless nights as I still make that same mistake.
“Up until two months ago at the Europeans, I did the exact same thing, I scored eight points in the preliminary on the back 3 1/2 because I just had no idea where I was, I had no confidence in myself, my anxiety was through the roof. I was physically scared to do the dive.
“I wanted to quit this year, quite a few times. It has been awful. I've hated it. But we have worked really hard.
“My team around me has been the best ever, I can't thank them enough. I feel like today is redemption for what has been just such a bad couple of years.
“It might not be a gold medal but a medal around my neck today is just the sense that I'm back, I'm here and I am ready to keep going."
The Brit's first three dives all scored more in the showpiece and although his fourth wasn’t as well-executed, he still headed into the final two dives – those with the highest degree of difficulty in his entire set – in bronze medal position, behind his Chinese rivals.
Laugher then nailed his forward 4½ somersaults in tuck for a mammoth score of 96.90 that left him just 2.5 points behind Wang heading into his final dive – a forward 2½ somersaults 3 twists from pike
He scored a solid 87.75 for a bronze-winning total of 518.00 and Wang sealed silver with an incredible 102.60, taking him to 534.90, while Xie brilliantly took gold on 558.75.
After the disappointment of finishing seventh in his 3m synchro title defence, alongside Dan Goodfellow, the 26-year-old from Harrogate will leave Tokyo with silverware, having cemented his place as Team GB’s most successful Olympic diver of all-time.