Team England divers progress to day two Gold Coast finals

Five Team England divers progressed during the second heats session of the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games.

In the men’s 3m springboard competition, Jack Laugher, who won the 1m competition last night, progressed to the final, alongside Jack Haslam and brother Ross.

Laugher was ranked in first place after the first four dives but then struggled with the bright conditions in his Forward 4½ Somersaults and slipped to fifth place, where he finished overall with a score of 396.40.

Sheffield based Ross Haslam was the highest placed English competitor finishing third with 404.10 points. His final dive, a Forward 2½ Somersaults 2 Twists, scored his highest points total with 71.40.

Older brother Jack qualified in twelfth position with 329.70. His place in the final was secured by 0.7 points.

After a competition that saw everyone struggle with the glaring sun, Laugher said: “It’s really difficult conditions out there, you can see it from everyone’s diving.

“I wasn’t the only one to drop a dive but it’s actually good preparation to do that then come back and I think I finished quite well.

“The first half of my list went very well and I’m really happy with. It was just that one dive.

“I think the position of the sun, then a bad hurdle step and a bad tuck it all just went downhill from there.

“Last year I didn’t compete outdoors at all. It’s difficult to get used to as there are some strong shadows being cast, the pool is very blue, the sky is very blue.

“It’s a lovely place and I’m having a great time, but it is hard which is why the scores are a bit lower for everyone.”

Toulson and Birch qualify for individual 10m platform final

Fellow Leeds diver Lois Toulson qualified in fourth position with 324.60 points for the 10m women’s event taking place later today. Team mate Robyn Birch was close behind with 319.50 points.

Toulson’s best dive was her fourth, an Inward 3½ Somersaults, scoring 76.80, whereas Birch’s best dive came in the fifth round, a Back 2½ Somersaults 1½ Twists, which also scored 76.80.

Toulson said: “With it being outside the conditions changed dramatically throughout the competition. There was some wind which was definitely distracting, but I think we all did pretty well considering.”

•  Click here to view the full results from the 2018 Gold Coast diving competition