Jack Laugher has taken a bronze medal for Great Britain in the final of the men's 3m springboard event at the diving World Cup in Shanghai.
The 19-year-old, who finished second in yesterday's semi-final, had a topsy-turvy six rounds that saw him languishing in eighth place after poor first and third dives. However an incredible score of 102.60 for his most ambitious dive - the forward 4-1/2 somersault tuck - in the penultimate round saw him shoot back up the leaderboard to third, which he maintained.
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The result marks Laugher's first medal at the FINA World Cup after his eighth-place bow at the 2012 competition, and also leaves him as the top-ranked athlete heading into the Commonwealth Games, which get underway in Glasgow next week.
Gold and silver went to China's He Chong (540.35) and Cao Yuan (526.70) respectively.
Promising American diver Nick McCrory had a disastrous run of dives, including a 42.50 in the second round, to prop up the leaderboard with a total of 407.55.
Tomorrow's schedule in China features the semi-final and final of the men's 10m platform event, where British hopes of a podium finish lie with Tom Daley.
Final rankings in full:
1. He Chong (CHN) - 540.35
2. Cao Yuan (CHN) - 526.70
3. Jack Laugher (GBR) - 488.20
4. Illya Kvasha (UKR) - 486.15
5. Ilia Zakharov (RUS) - 484.40
6. Patrick Hausding (GER) - 484.25
7. Yahel Castillo (MEX) - 477.25
8. David Boudia (USA) - 471.20
9. Rommel Pacheco (MEX) - 452.35
10. Ken Terauchi (JPN) - 452.20
11. Grant Nei (AUS) - 449.65
12. Nick McCrory (USA) - 407.55
Jack Laugher round-by-round:
Round 1: Forward 2-1/2 somersault 2 twist pike, (difficulty 3.4) - 76.50
Round 2: Reverse 3-1/2 somersault tuck, (difficulty 3.5) - 94.50
Round 3: Inward 3-1/2 somersault tuck, (difficulty 3.4) - 54.40
Round 4: Reverse 2-1/2 somersault 1-1/2 twist pike, (difficulty 3.3) - 79.20
Round 5: Forward 4-1/2 somersault tuck, (difficulty 3.8) - 102.60
Round 6: Back 3-1/2 somersault tuck, (difficulty 3.6) - 81.00
Nick McCrory round-by-round:
Round 1: Back 2-1/2 somersault pike, (difficulty 3.0) - 79.50
Round 2: Inward 3-1/2 somersault tuck, (difficulty 3.4) - 42.50
Round 3: Forward 3-1/2 somersault pike, (difficulty 3.1) - 74.40
Round 4: Reverse 3-1/2 somersault tuck, (difficulty 3.5) - 47.25
Round 5: Forward 2-1/2 somersault 2 twist, (difficulty 3.4) - 79.60
Round 6: Reverse 1-1/2 somersault 3-1/2 twist free, (difficulty 3.5) - 84.00
Neil Wilkes
