Eight years ago, Jack Laugher appeared in his first Commonwealth Games as a precocious 19-year-old, bursting onto the world stage with two gold medals at Glasgow 2014. Now 27, a seasoned veteran who has faced numerous obstacles.
Nevertheless, it continues to triumph. After a timid start, Laugher’s form exploded in the second half of the men’s 1m springboard to help him to his third consecutive Commonwealth Games gold medal, his seventh at the general As Australia’s veteran Li Shixin finished with silver, England’s Jordan Houlden took an excellent bronze in his first Commonwealth Games.
It was far from easy. Laugher had struggled in the preliminary round in the afternoon, feeling the nerves as he qualified in fourth place. He reached the final under great pressure from Li, 34, a two-time world champion.
However, when the pressure was on, Laugher soared. Houlden led from the start, opting for the tactic of throwing his hardest jumps first and nailing them to establish an early lead. But in the second half, Laugher distanced himself from the group. For his fourth dive, he spectacularly executed his two-and-a-half dive inverted jump, the hardest jump in his arsenal, which moved him into first place. After reaching the top, Laugher refused to give up his gold medal.
He finished in spectacular fashion, clearing his last two dives and racking up a huge score of 447 points, just 10 points ahead of the ever-consistent Li. “They pushed me today,” Laugher said.
“It was a high-scoring competition, probably the highest-scoring competition we’ve ever had at the Commonwealth Games. Great performances from everyone and I’m really happy to share the podium with Jordan.”
Laugher’s success is all the more significant considering the struggles he has documented in recent years, with anxiety and other mental health issues that left him on the verge of quitting the sport after 2019.
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“It’s been very difficult,” he said. “It’s my job and it’s hard to do your job when you’re constantly anxious about it.
“But I’ve come a long way, I’m looking for the right help I need. I think those wins, medals, here and there, do a small amount for that.”
After winning bronze on the 3m springboard at the Olympics last year, Laugher told the world she was back and has backed those words up. At the World Championships in June, Laugher walked away with three medals, his best ever haul. Now he is Commonwealth Games champion again.
First Dates presenter Fred Sirieix celebrates his daughter, England’s Andrea Spendolini-Sirieix, winning gold in the women’s 10m platform diving final. Photograph: Mike Egerton/PA
On a night where Laugher continued his love affair with the Games, First Dates star Fred Sirieix watched his daughter Andrea Spendolini-Sirieix secure gold in the women’s vaulting final of 10m platform, his first senior international gold medal in the event.
Sirieix shared a video clip of the 17-year-old competing on his Instagram where he can be heard cheering her on as the crowd applauds her dive.
He captioned the post: “Gold! commonwealthgames2022 10m diving platform”, adding: “Well done mon duck” with a duck and heart emoji.
Spendolini-Sirieix topped the standings with a whopping 20.20 points, with teammate Lois Toulson taking silver.
Last year, during her Olympic debut in Tokyo, she finished seventh at the age of 16.
After the win in Birmingham, he said: “I’m very, very happy. It’s amazing that it’s at home, some home games, the first time I’ve had a crowd because I didn’t have one in Tokyo and the other internationals I’ve done I haven’t had a crowd. large crowd
“It’s been incredible, I’ve had a lot of fun. I wasn’t scared, I was so calm, so I’m really, really happy with how it went.”