Spendolini-Sirieix, Laugher and Harding medal in opening leg of World Cup

Andrea Spendolini-Sirieix and the pair of Jack Laugher and Anthony Harding each earnt bronze at the opening leg of the World Aquatics Diving World Cup.

They were part of a nine-strong British team competing on the world stage for the first time since the Paris 2024 Olympic Games – with seven of the squad from Paris joining the group in Mexico.

And following a historic Games in the French capital it was Spendolini-Sirieix who first took the team back to the podium after an impressive display in the Women’s 10m Platform.

She held off the challenge of Mexico’s Alejandra Estudillo Torres, who performed some historically difficulty dives, to earn bronze with a total of 337.70

Spendolini-Sirieix put in a consistent display, only being beaten by the Chinese duo of Chen Yuxi and Quan Hongchan who were pulling off near perfect dives throughout.

Commenting on her performance, Spendolini-Sirieix told World Aquatics: “It’s been great to compete here in Mexico. We’re brushing off the cobwebs after the Paris Olympics and enjoying every moment.”

Laugher and Harding secured bronze with their final dive to double the British medal tally on the final day of competition.

The world, European and Olympic medallists were locked in a battle with Germany’s Moritz Weseman and Lou Noel Guy Massenberg throughout, edging them out by less than a point.

The now Sheffield Performance Centre pair bounced back from a slight mistake in round four with their best scoring dive to close out their list.

A Forward 4 ½ Somersault Tuck earnt them 84.36 from the judges, 1.08 more than the German’s scored for the same dive to move them ahead with a final total of 396.06.

“We’re happy to be here claiming bronze at the first international event after Paris 2024 Olympics,” said Laugher. “Some interesting dives and good scores—we’re happy with that performance.”

Looking ahead to Canada

Laugher also competed in the individual Men’s 3m Springboard, finishing fifth amongst a strong field.

The Brit finished on 435.20, around 20 points away from the medal places after four of his six dives scored more than 70 points.

Jordan Houlden impressed in eighth, with the Sheffield based diver in touching distance of Laugher’s score after scoring 403.80 from his six dives.

Olympic bronze medallists Yasmin Harper and Scarlett Mew Jensen were also back in action in Guadalajara. They followed on from a nail-biting finale in the French capital to finish narrowly outside the medal places on their return to the international stage.

The duo sat inside the top five throughout a solid list of dives, finishing on a total of 275.61. That was around just 13 points short of a medal position where Australia’s Maddison Keeney and Alysha Koloi took home bronze with 287.85.

There was also a new partnership for Great Britain in the Women’s 10m Synchronised Platform as 17-year-old Maisie Bond joined Olympic medallist Lois Toulson on the boards in Mexico.

The pair grew into the event, saving their best dive for last as their Back 2 ½ Somersault 1 ½ Twists Pike scored 70.08. That saw them finish seventh in the standings with a total of 269.40.

Elsewhere, Desharne Bent-Ashmeil and Harper both narrowly missed out on a finals place in the Women’s 3m Springboard.

Amongst a tight field, Harper was 19th and Bent-Ashmeil 21st with both athlete’s gaining vital individual experience to take with them into the second leg in Canada next weekend.

All nine of the team will be heading out to North America as they can continue to build towards the World Championships later in the year.

You can find out more about the opening leg of the World Aquatics World Cup on the World Aquatics website with live streaming available of the entire competition on Eurovision Sport.

Images: World Aquatics