Sarah Barrow admitted she had reawakened memories of London 2012 after she and partner Tonia Couch won 10m synchro silver on day one of the Diving World Series.
The third leg of the 2014 Diving World Series in London this weekend marks the first time an international event has been staged at the Aquatics Centre since the Olympics almost two years ago.
And Barrow and Couch, who finished fifth in London, ensured there was plenty for the home crowd to cheer in the opening session, securing a silver medal in the very first competition of the three-day event.
The pair had been leading after the second round of jumping, before eventually being overtaken by the Chinese duo of Chen Ruolin and Liu Huixia who took gold with a score of 337.14.
Barrow and Couch had seen the start of this year disrupted by injuries and illness, including a dislocated knee to latter.
But after posting a season’s international best score of 321.24 points, Barrow knows they can take plenty of confidence going into next weekend’s Moscow leg.
“It’s very exciting to do that well, especially in front of a home crowd,” said Barrow.
“It did bring back memories of the London Olympics. When we finished our twists or dives, it was just really nice to hear everyone cheering for you. It’s so much better when you have people cheering you.
“That puts you in a position for the next dive to do really well. We had perfect preparation, we came here with no injuries and we were really confident so it’s great to put in a performance like that.”
The other opening event saw the British pair of Matthew Lee and Daniel Goodfellow take part in the men’s 10m synchro competition.
They were unable to add to the two World Series bronze medals won in Beijing and Dubai last month, with China’s Chen Aisen and Yang Jian taking gold.
The Brits’ score of 403.86 was however better than they had managed in either of the first two legs, with Lee far from disappointed with a new personal best.
“Our aim was to get a personal best and get over 400 points which we did. That was something we didn’t manage to do in Beijing or Dubai so we’re over the moon,” he said.
“It’s crazy for us at the minute, last year I was on the junior circuit and my aim for this year was just to carry on with that.
“I came to watch the Olympics two years ago so it’s great to have had a bit of that experience here this weekend with the home crowd.”
© Sportsbeat 2014