Jack Laugher has work to do before Olympics but Lois Toulson claims European Championship silver

Jack Laugher has his work cut out if he is to dominate the Olympic diving pool in Tokyo this summer, as he did five years ago in Rio.
Jack Laugher of Great Britain competing in the Mens 3m Springboard Preliminary during the LEN European Aquatics Championships Diving at Duna Arena on May 14, 2021 in Budapest,  (Picture: Andre Weening/BSR Agency/Getty Images)Jack Laugher of Great Britain competing in the Mens 3m Springboard Preliminary during the LEN European Aquatics Championships Diving at Duna Arena on May 14, 2021 in Budapest,  (Picture: Andre Weening/BSR Agency/Getty Images)
Jack Laugher of Great Britain competing in the Mens 3m Springboard Preliminary during the LEN European Aquatics Championships Diving at Duna Arena on May 14, 2021 in Budapest, (Picture: Andre Weening/BSR Agency/Getty Images)

The 26-year-old from Harrogate, a gold and silver medallist in Rio, missed out on a medal of any colour in the same two 3m springboard disciplines at the European Aquatics Championships in Budapest.

Laugher won a silver in the men’s 1m springboard earlier in the week but he and his 3m synchro partner Don Goodfellow fell out of medal contention with a horror dive in their final on Thursday night, to finish sixth.

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And then last night, after progressing fourth from the morning preliminary round, the Olympic 3m champion fell to a sixth-place finish in that discipline, with just over two months left to the Olympics.

Eden Cheng and Lois Toulson won silver in Budapest. (Picture: Toru Hanai/Getty Images)Eden Cheng and Lois Toulson won silver in Budapest. (Picture: Toru Hanai/Getty Images)
Eden Cheng and Lois Toulson won silver in Budapest. (Picture: Toru Hanai/Getty Images)

There was better news for Lois Toulson Laugher’s clubmate at City of Leeds, who was upgraded to a silver medal alongside Eden Cheng in the women’s 10m synchronised event, after a mistake by their Ukranian rivals.

“I was really happy with how we performed and after that mishap I could see Eden was a bit shaken, but I’m really proud of how she managed to do her last two dives really well,” said Toulson.

“It was a good lesson to learn here and we still managed to come away with that silver medal, so I’m really pleased.

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“We had a good chunk of training synchro together, as I spent two months down in London, and I think that put us in a really good position.

“We haven’t had a solid block of training like that before, as we’re obviously at opposite ends of the country. Now we’re ready to go home and do the same again and hopefully we’ll be ready for the next competition.

“With diving anything can happen, but if we’re selected for the Olympics I think we definitely have the potential to medal.”

There was also better news for Andrea Spendolini-Sirieix, who claimed a second medal at the European Aquatics Championships on Thursday.

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City of Leeds diver Matty Lee partners Tom Daley in the 10m synchro today while Kat Torrance, another based at the John Charles Centre in Leeds, contests the 3m synchro with Grace Reid.

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