Tom Daley failed to claim the medal to silence his critics but his Olympic ambitions look on track after a vastly-improved showing alongside Peter Waterfield in the platform synchro at the FINA World Cup.
The duo had been third with two dives to go but, after missing their most difficult penultimate dive, fell down the standings to finish seventh at the Olympic Aquatics Centre.
It still represented a vast improvement on their morning's showing, when they scraped through qualification, while their points tally of 419.97 bettered the score they returned at last July's World Championships.
That was the duo's last competition together and, after a limited preparation due to injury, the result was a welcome boost to their Olympic ambitions.
Injury to both divers has restricted them to less than two weeks training together this year, and while rustiness was evident in the morning, there was little sign of it in the evening as they were roared on by a 3,000 strong crowd.
They scored 10s on two separate dives before making their first mistake on the forward four-and-a-half somersault, which ultimately cost them a medal in a final of high quality.