Jack Laugher and Anthony Harding delivered brilliant bronze in the Men's 3m Synchro final to complete an unprecedented clean sweep of synchro diving medals for Team GB in Paris - and make it a historic Olympic medal haul for GB's divers already at this stage of the Games.
With Tom Daley and Noah Williams (Men's 10m Synchro) winning sensational silver on Monday, and Yasmin Harper and Scarlett Mew Jensen (Women's 3m Synchro) and Lois Toulson and Andrea Spendolini-Sirieix (Women's 10m Synchro) memorable bronzes either side of that, it meant that a medal finish for Laugher and Harding would create all sorts of history for the Aquatics GB diving setup.
So it proved, with the friends and springboard partners putting in a nerveless display in the face of an absolutely world-class final to clinch the bronze, thanks in part to two outstanding dives in rounds five and six.
The result means Team GB have surpassed their previous record of three diving medals at an Olympics (from both Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020) before the individual programme has even begun, while Jack has now won four medals from the last three Games to further cement his place as a British Olympic great.
In what was always set to be a close-fought contest, Jack and Anthony set themselves up well with two solid required dives to open, both scores a tad under 50 points apiece to leave them second at that stage.
Their optional list kicked off with a Forward 2 1/2 Somersaults 2 Twists Pike (5154B), strong synchronisation and execution scoring them 82.62 points for the dive of the round and keeping them second, before a drop to third in round four after their Inward 3 1/2 Somersaults Tuck (407C).
That would prove to be the only slight misstep of the final and the only time one of their dives ranked outside the top three for the round. In round five, the Aquatics GB Leeds Performance Centre pair performed their hardest dive of the contest, a Forward 2 1/2 Somersaults 3 Twists Pike (5156B) - and they kept their cool, scoring 85.41 points thanks to some perfect timing again.
![Jack Laugher Anthony Harding twisting dive Paris 2024](https://www.aquaticsgb.com/media/images/Jack_Laugher_Anthony_Harding_twisting_dive_3m.width-1280.jpg)
And with all three medal colours still at stake heading into the final round, Jack and Anthony showed the world-class composure built as a pairing across two World Championship medals and a European title in the past two years, a stunning Forward 4 1/2 Somersaults Tuck (109C) earning 94.62 points and moving them on to 438.15 points, just eight short of the Chinese pairing of Long Daoyi and Wang Zongyuan. At that stage, the GB duo sat in silver, only for Mexico's Juan Manuel Celaya Hernandez and Osmar Olvera Ibarra nailing their closer to ensure silver for Mexico and bronze for Team GB.
That did nothing, though, to take away from Jack and Anthony's celebrations, alongside coaches Adam Smallwood - a constant part of their progression in Leeds - and Tom Owens. And it confirms an unprecedented clean sweep of synchro medals for the Aquatics GB divers after some brilliant momentum has built behind the synchro programme since Tokyo.
"Four medals from four is unreal,” said Laugher of the synchro full house in Paris.
“What we’ve achieved as a team is wonderful. There was so much pressure on us coming in with three from three and we know we could make it four from four. It’s a wonderful day and one to cherish forever.
“We worked really hard and we’ve got here but my word, there was pressure on us today. What we’ve done is wonderful and we’ll remember this forever."
Reflecting on their crucial fifth-round Forward 2 1/2 Somersaults 3 Twists Pike, Anthony added: "It’s the hardest dive we do. In training, to get the adrenaline to do it is so difficult. It's Jack’s strongest dive so it’s a no-brainer that it has to be there. For me, I’m just so happy to get it in when it actually mattered."