Tokyo Olympics: Team GB endures disastrous attempt to defend men’s 3m synchronised diving title

Team GB laboured in a poor performance in the men’s synchronised 3m diving final with Jack Laugher and Dan Goodfellow both finishing well out of medal contention.

Laugher was part of a pair that won Olympic gold in Rio five years ago, but along with Goodfellow never even looked like getting a medal as the duo laboured near the bottom for much of the contest before finishing seventh out of the eight contenders.

The pair struggled throughout the competition and only a failed dive from the Russian Olympic Committee team prevented them from finishing bottom of the field, having been looking to at least medal ahead of the contest. 

Despite targeting a medal, the pair never looked like reaching the top three in a poor display

Team GB could only finish seventh among the eight contenders having struggled throughout

China dominated the contest to take gold ahead of USA and Germany.

Although Laugher was a defending champion, Goodfellow also had promising Olympic pedigree heading into the contest having taken bronze in the 10m platform with Tom Daley at the Rio games 

But the pair started poorly in Tokyo, with a back dive in a pike seeing them prop up the field after the first round with just 47.40 points.

However, they hit back immediately to show their potential with an inward dive in a pike seeing them move into joint fifth.

But from then on form deserted them as a series of three somersault dives in a tuck position saw them score the lowest in the three rounds to leave them well down the field.

A failed dive from the Russian Olympic Committee team, which resulted in a no score in the final round, spared their blushes of finishing dead last.

Laugher and Goodfellow did produce their best dive of the competition in the final round though, with a forward two-and-a-half somersault pike with three twists seeing them place second overall in the round.