Lee and Kothari step up for 10m Synchro gold

Matty Lee and Kyle Kothari showed their potential as a 10m Synchro pairing as they landed the British title on day two in Plymouth.

Competing on the national stage for the first time, the City of Leeds and Dive London pair scored 406.17 to clinch gold.

European bronze medallists Matthew Dixon and Noah Williams won silver for the second year in succession as they scored 388.50 while Scotland’s defending champions Lucas Thomson and James Heatly took bronze.

Lee boasts an impressive record in 10m Synchro events at the British Championships, winning men’s gold with James Denny in 2015 and mixed gold with Lois Toulson last year.

And he reached the top of the podium again in Plymouth, despite his and Kothari’s relative inexperience as a partnership.

New pair grow in confidence through rounds

After a solid 100.80 for their required dives, Lee and Kothari appeared to grow in confidence throughout the four optional rounds.

They finished with one of the showpiece dives of the Championships so far, scoring 92.13 for a superb forward 4 ½ somersaults with tuck.

While Dixon and Williams can be pleased with their performance to return to the podium, their result was somewhat bittersweet.

The pair had more than 20 points in hand going into the last round of dives, after eye-catching scores of 82.56, 79.20 and 73.92 for their first three optionals.

But while they needed just 70 points to capture the title in the final round, below-par efforts from both divers saw them finish with 52.02 for their reverse 3 ½ somersaults with tuck.

Men’s 10m Synchro Results

RankNameScore
1Matty Lee & Kyle Kothari
(City of Leeds & Dive London)
406.17
2Matthew Dixon & Noah Williams
(Plymouth Diving & Dive London)
388.50
3Lucas Thomson & James Heatly
(Edinburgh Diving)
348.72
4Aidan Heslop & Alfie Brown
(Plymouth Diving)
327.42

Kat Torrance and Alicia Blagg in charge in 3m Synchro

The women’s 3m Synchro was more straightforward as Kat Torrance and Alicia Blagg held the lead through all five rounds.

The City of Leeds pair ultimately finished on 266.70, taking the title from Sheffield’s 2015 champions Millie Haffety and Millie Fowler.

Victory brought 2014 Commonwealth champion Blagg her fourth British 3m Synchro title, while Torrance was claiming her maiden British gold in the synchronised event.

Women’s 3m Synchro Results

RankNameScore
1Katherine Torrance & Alicia Blagg
(City of Leeds)
266.70
2Millie Haffety & Millie Fowler
(City of Sheffield)
241.11
3Yasmin Harper & Scarlett Mew Jensen
(City of Shefifeld & Dive London)
233.82
4Amy Read & Emily Bearpark
(City of Leeds)
219.75
5Evie Smith & Evie Summers
(Crystal Palace)
216.72
  • Click here to view full results from the British Diving Champs.
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