World champion diver Tom Daley struck FINA Diving World Series gold for the first time in four years on Sunday as he took the Men’s 10m Platform title.
Competing at the Centre Sportif du Parc olympique de Montréal, Daley had already won silver alongside Synchro partner Matty Lee, and would go on to win Mixed 3m Synchro alongside Grace Reid, but it was the individual event where he hit the jackpot.
Leading throughout, Daley never faltered, a fifth round Front 4 ½ Somersaults Tuck (109C), which scored 99.90 and was the second highest scoring dive of the competition, putting the result beyond doubt. Having been in good form so far in the opening two legs of the series, this was another step up for Daley, who took last year off to focus on parenthood.
Reflecting on his performance, Daley said:
“I’m really, really happy to come away with a gold medal at the World Series and it’s always great to be up against the Chinese and competing with them. When it comes to my diving performance I feel there are a few dives in there that I could have done a lot better, so it wasn’t my best performance, but I’m really happy with the way things turned out, leading throughout the competition.
“This is my most successful World Series weekend ever, with two silvers alongside Grace and Matty and a gold. My best performance at a World Series before was either three bronzes or just one gold, so it’s nice to win a World Series again for the first time since 2015.”
Straight back in the water, Daley teamed up with training partner Grace Reid on the springboard, the final event of the Canadian leg. After a slightly shaky start the pair found their form, delivering a pair of high quality dives in the final two rounds to secure silver, one better than the bronze medals they won in Japan and China.
Next up, Daley and the rest of the British team will travel to Kazan, Russia, before the 2019 World Series finale in London from 17-19 May.
There was also a silver lining for Jack Laugher as he finished second in the Men’s 3m Springboard on Saturday, improving on two bronze medals in the opening two legs of the series. Having finished sixth in the Synchro with Dan Goodfellow on the opening day, Laugher returned to the pool with the bit between his teeth, delivering with a world class performance.
Exceeding 500 points for the first time this season, Law split the two Chinese divers Slyl Xie and Yuan Cao, his fourth and fifth round dives scoring big points.
Having won silver on the opening day Matty Lee teamed up with long-time Mixed 10m Synchro partner Lois Toulson, the duo turning in a strong performance to just miss out on a medal. Haivng finished seventh in Japan and fourth in Beijing, this was another step up for the young pairing, who will be hoping they can win a maiden medal at home in London next month. Earlier in the day Leeds based Toulson had contested the Women’s 10m final, finishing a creditable fifth with a score of 320.50.
Full results from Montreal can be found here
Tickets for the London leg of the World Series, which takes place at the London Aquatics Centre between 17-19 May, can be purchased here