Jack Laugher and Chris Mears stuck a wrench in China’s plans for domination in Olympic diving with an impressive program to take gold in the men’s synchronized 3m springboard event Wednesday in Rio de Janeiro.
As the rain fell at Maria Lenk Aquatics Center on a cool day in Rio, Great Britain posted a total of 454.32 points.
USA’s Michael Hixon and Sam Dorman put together an impressive 450.21-point program to place second and secure the silver medal — the United States’ second diving silver of the 2016 Rio Games.
China’s Cao Yuan and Qin Kai, who led after the first two rounds, posted a total of 443.70.
After a bit of confusion regarding Mexico’s final dive stalled USA’s Hixon and Dorman, the pair of Olympic rookies stomped a forward 4.5-somersault dive that carried a 3.8 degree of difficulty for their highest score of the day, a 98.04.