Daley and Williams guarantee two more Tokyo berths

Tom Daley and Noah Williams secured another two spots for Team GB at Tokyo 2020 after both reached the men's 10m platform World Championship final.

This is the first time Great Britain have ever qualified three male platform places one year out from the Olympic Games.

Daley had already helped guarantee Britain a 10m synchro spot, with he and Matty Lee diving to the bronze medal in Gwangju.

And the 25-year-old isn’t done yet, relieved to clinch qualification and the spot in an event in which he is reigning world champion.

“I am beyond happy,” Daley said.

“I managed to hold it together and although there’s a bit of sharpening up needed I’m in a good place going into the final.

“When you’re expected to get the place, it’s terrifying and I don’t take any moment for granted – you can only relax when you know you’ve qualified, because in diving anything can happen at any moment.

“Of course, I would love to defend the world title; it’ll be tough as those Chinese guys are pretty special and I also have the mixed synchro event before then as well, so it’ll be a busy day.

“For me, this is job done, qualification for the Olympics for GB in the men’s platform and men’s synchro, so I can enjoy the final.”

For Williams, guaranteeing a British spot for Tokyo was the ultimate goal in South Korea – a moment that understandably left the 19-year-old thrilled.

“I’m really happy with that. The aim was to get in the final and get the Olympic spot for next year and I’ve done that, so I’m over the moon,” he said.

“It’s my first World Championships and last year at the World Cup I didn’t even get into the semi-final so I was very nervous and didn’t have too much confidence.

“The aim was to peak for the semi-final and we’ve done that, so job done.”

In the final of the women’s 3m springboard, Grace Reid produced a strong finish to her competition as she placed eighth.

But the 23-year-old isn’t done yet, set to once again team up with Daley for the mixed synchro, two years on from the pair winning world silver in the event.

Sportsbeat 2019