China has traditionally dominated the synchronized diving competitions in the Summer Olympics, winning 16 of a possible 19 gold medals in synchronized diving since the sport’s addition to the Olympic program heading into the men’s 3m springboard final. While China still has an incredible rate of success in synchronized diving competitions, they were unable to add to that gold medal total Wednesday.
Great Britain’s Jack Laugher and Chris Mears pulled off the upset, taking the gold medal with a score of 454.32 points in the six-round competition. And in winning, Laugher and Mears earned their nation’s first-ever Olympic diving gold medal.