Courtesy: British Swimming
Olympic champion Jack Laugher and world champion Tom Daley headline the Great Britain team that will contest the final leg of the 2019 FINA Diving World Series, which comes to London from 17-19 May.
Returning to the British capital for the first time in four years, the event will see the best divers in the world return to the London Aquatics Centre, with a 10-strong British team eyeing silverware in the final major international competition prior to the World Championships in July.
Now firmly established as one of the best diving nations in the world, the GB team is full of quality, none more so than Olympic champion Jack Laugher, who will contest both the individual 3m Springboard and the 3m Synchro, the latter alongside Olympic bronze medalist Dan Goodfellow. Goodfellow made the move to Leeds 12 months ago to work alongside Laugher, having switched from the platform, where he won Olympic bronze in Rio alongside Tom Daley, to the springboard. The new pairing have been regulars on the World Series podium so far this year, as has Laugher in the individual event.
From the platform, Tom Daley will also do the double, in the individual event and the 10m Synchro alongside his new dive partner Matty Lee. Daley made a flying return to world level competition in Japan earlier this year, and will be looking to deliver that type of performance in front of a home crowd. Like Laugher and Goodfellow, the Daley-Lee partnership has been quick to flourish on the World Series this year.
Having struck Commonwealth and European gold in 2018, Grace Reid will contest a trio of events, all from the 3m springboard. The Scottish star will go alongside Daley in the Mixed 3m Synchro, an event in which the duo have enjoyed plenty of success, as well as the 3m and 3m Synchro alongside Kat Torrance.
Looking ahead to the prospect of competing once again in London, Tom Daley said:
“To walk out in front of a home crowd and wear that Great Britain flag on your chest is something that is so special and I dreamt of from a young age; to be able to do that on so many occasions now is an incredible privilege. To dive in front of a home crowd is always exciting, but especially so when it’s in the London 2012 pool – to rekindle some of those memories of diving in front of thousands of people, with the crowd roaring you on, will be very special.
“The support from everyone that comes to watch is so valuable in helping us raise our game, so the more people we can get down to come and watch the better the performances are going to be. It’s the top divers in the world competing, so it’s going to be a great spectacle, but for us having that home crowd advantage is going to be really special.”
Grace Reid added:
“I’m always proud to pull on the red white and blue. Any opportunity to represent my country is a huge honor and I love every second of it. As with any event in London I’m sure the crowd will be magical – the home support never disappoints and I’m so excited to see the turnout.”
The event will run from Friday 17th to Sunday 19th May, with a morning and evening session each day. With such a packed schedule, the crowd will be able to see either Daley or Laugher in every single session. The full event schedule can be found here.
Tickets are still available by clicking here.
Full Great Britain team:
Robyn Birch
Eden Cheng
Tom Daley
Dan Goodfellow
Ross Haslam*
Jack Laugher
Matty Lee
Grace Reid
Katherine Torrance
Lois Toulson