'I've overcome quite a lot' - Jack Laugher, Andrea Spendolini-Sirieix wins Commonwealth Games golds in diving
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Updated 04/08/2022 at 20:37 GMT
England claimed two medals in the 1m springboard competition at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham on Thursday afternoon. The 27-year-old athlete, Jack Laugher, won his third consecutive Commonwealth gold in the event, while team-mate Jordan Boulden was able to win the bronze medal in the same event. There was also a gold medal for Andrea Spendolini-Sirieix, 17, in the women's 10m platform.
Jack Laugher
Image credit: Getty Images
England diver Jack Laugher defended his Commonwealth 1 metre springboard title for the third time on Thursday.
The 27-year-old first won gold in 2014 before going on to defend for the first time in 2018, winning gold again.
Second place went to his Australian challenger Li Shixin, who was 10 points behind Laugher's score of 447.05, which was enough to secure a third 1m springboard gold for the Englishman.
There was another podium place for England as Jordan Boulden won bronze - his first medal at the Commonwealth Games.
Speaking after the event in Birmingham, Laugher described Boulden’s medal win as "extremely special".
"Honestly I think what Jordan has done today is extremely special," Laugher said.
"First Commonwealth Games in front of a home crowd, there's a lot of pressure. He's come out there, he's pushed me and the boy from Australia all the way.
"He's done himself proud today and it's lovely having someone along side me now and it's great. I couldn't think of a better person for it."
Laugher finished fourth in the preliminary round on Thursday morning. He was in bronze medal position after the first three dives in the final before an inward two-and-a-half somersaults in pike scored him 79.90 to move into top spot.
Reflecting on his gold medal, he said: "This morning is proof that sometimes things can go wrong.
"I think I came into it maybe not in the right frame of mind and feeling a little bit scared, but today I just did my normal thing and it worked out. It's actually my lowest score that I have done in three Commonwealths. I'm still doing really well, and I like being pushed all the way.
"It is always a work in progress and you can see the physicality of the people I am competing against - they're all so high. Jordan is a little bit younger than me and a very strong boy and at the top end, the physical aspect is really similar and what separates the best from the best is the physical aspect of it.
"Mental health and mental well-being has been extremely important for me. I've really struggled with it over the years but I feel like I've overcome quite a lot and obviously doing performances like this today and at the world championships makes it all better and keep me moving forward."
Andrea Spendolini-Sirieix, aged 17, won the women's 10m platform on her Commonwealth Games debut. Her Team England team-mate Lois Toulson took silver, upgrading from the bronze she won in 2018.
Spendolini-Sirieix scored 357.50 points and topped the leaderboard after her second dive. Toulson finished with an overall total of 337.30.
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