Brits upset Chinese to win synchro 3-meter Olympic gold

An eight-discipline diving sweep is no longer possible for China after Great Britain’s strong program Wednesday in the men’s synchronized 3m.

USA diver Sam Dorman of Tempe, Arizona, and Mike Hixon saved their best for last in the 3m synchronized springboard competition on Wednesday. But Laugher and Mears recorded a 91.20 in the sixth round to end the competition with 454.32 points.

Dorman and Hixon have only been working together for a few months, and while both have competed around the world, neither had finished in the top 15 in their trials appearance four years ago.

Dorman tweeted shortly after the event ended: “SILVER MEDAL!” After much consternation, Team USA finally took its turn, and Dorman and Hixon gave a sensational effort, scoring 98.04 on the final dive to briefly put themselves in position to win gold.

Jack Laugher and Chris Mears of Great Britian won the gold, while the Chinese duo of Yuan Cao and Kai Qin took bronze.

China was going for its third consecutive sweep of the Olympic synchronized events and has still won 16 of the 20 events since synchronzed diving was installed in the Olympics in 2000.