Laugher leaps into 3m Springboard final

Jack Laugher qualified for the Men’s 3m Springboard event after some great dives put him in 12th place at Rio 2016.

Laugher’s semi-final dives were very changeable. While he executed some really impressive dives, he also fell short on a number.

His best dive was his first, his Forward 2½ Somersaults 2 Twists, which saw him score 86.70. This result saw him leading the rest of the competition going into round two.

However, for his Reverse 3½ Somersaults the City of Leeds diver looked a little shaky. His execution was off and he was awarded only 47.25. This dropped his position significantly.

The young diver came back with his Inward 3½ Somersaults, nailing the dive. He brought himself back into contention for the final, sitting in 13th place.

The sixth round saw Laugher do just enough to nab a place in this evening’s finals. He scored 77.40 for his Back 3½ Somersaults and ended the semis in twelfth.

Laugher commented: “It was a terrible performance, I dropped three out of six dives, which is quite rare for me to be honest. It wasn’t feeling too great but in the last round I saw I was only two points shy of 12th place.

“So I thought, try and do the best dive you physically can and it was alright and enough to get me through, so whatever [with the semi-final] now, it is all about giving my all and doing the best I can in the final. – Jack Laugher

Team GB divers impress in prelims

The Men’s 3m Individual prelims took place yesterday, with some great performances from Laugher and Freddie Woodward.

After a shaky first dive, Laugher put in some great dives in rounds two, three and four, clawing his way back up the ranks. His Inward 3½ Somersaults in round three was his highest scoring dive of the prelims, scoring him 88.40. Laugher looked strong going into the fifth round, but bad execution on his Forward 4½ Somersaults saw his position plummet.

Despite not nailing the dive, the City of Leeds diver seemed to recover his form in the final round. He scored 86.40 for his Back 3 1/2 Somersaults, going through to the semi-finals in seventh place overall.”

“The aim was to make the semi-final and then fight for the final but it is a very tough competition in the men’s 3m springboard and no diver is a joke. I knew I was in it until the final dive, which is an achievement for me.” – Freddie Woodward

Woodward showed some real promise in the prelims too, with some very consistent diving throughout the event. His first dive was the one which scored highest though, giving him 72.00 and a solid foundation.

However, Woodward too had some issues with his fifth dive, which saw him score only 52.50. The City of Sheffield diver finished 19th overall with 388.15 and did not qualify for the final.

Woodward said: “Overall, I am pleased with what happened. I think a lot of what I did was strong and I didn’t feel fazed by the fact that it was the Olympics. Obviously it was my first Olympics so I was delighted to make it here.

Top