Chris Mears and Jack Laugher are relishing the added pressure of being Olympic champions as they prepare to return to international competition for the 2017 Diving World Series.
The duo, who became Britain’s first ever Olympic diving gold medallists in Rio last summer when they won the 3m synchro, have been named among the eight-strong diving team.
The World Series will act as the first international test for the team since the Olympic Games with the first event taking place in Beijing from March 3-5.
Tom Daley and Dan Goodfellow, winner of 10m synchro bronze last year, will make their competition debut together for 2017 while fellow Rio Olympian Grace Reid is set for her World Series debut – in the individual and synchro alongside new partner Katherine Torrance.
Tonia Couch and Lois Toulson make up the remainder of the team in the 10m synchro.
“It’ll be the first time we go into the World Series being Champions and I know that will add a different pressure to the competition for me and Jack," Mears told British Swimming.
“But we have worked hard through the winter and we competed well in Plymouth which has given us confidence.
“I’ve competed at the World Series for the past six years and it’s a great competition. Being able to have an early season test against the world’s best divers is so valuable to allow you to prepare for the big meet of the year.
“We are all aiming for the World Championships this summer and we won’t stop our hard work to continue to be one of the best Synchro pairs in the world.”
After the opening leg in Beijing, the Series moves onto a second Chinese city in Guangzhou before competitions in Kazan, Russia and then Windsor, Canada.
National Performance Director Alexei Evangulov added: “The World Series is going to be a good test for our athletes to return to international competition for the first time since the Olympic Games. It also gives the divers the platform on which to return to peak fitness sooner, facing tough international competition and be ready to challenge for podium positions in the summer.
“It will provide us with an opportunity from a strategic point of view to identify who our main competition will be, come the FINA World Championships in Budapest later this year.
“The team selected features a mixture of new and experienced World Series competitors and we hope to use the opening legs in China and Russia to build a strong foundation at the start of the Tokyo cycle.”
Sportsbeat 2017