Gary Hunt: Briton wins world 27m high diving gold in Kazan

Britain's Gary Hunt captured the 27m high diving gold in fine style at the World Championships in Kazan, Russia.

The 31-year-old, silver medallist two years ago, held a 33-point lead into the final round and finished on 629.30.

Mexico's Jonathan Paredes was second on 596.45 and Russian Artem Silchenko won bronze on the banks of the Kazanka.

Defending champion Orlando Duque, 11th after the first three rounds, finished sixth with the highest score of the final round, a 151.20-point dive.

Hunt, whose fellow competitors bowed to him in appreciation of his display, lost a 38-point final-round advantage to lose by less than a point to the Colombian two years ago.

"That stuck with me. I had to live with that for two years," the diver from Southampton said. "I just told myself: 'Don't do it again'."

Fina president Julio Maglione hopes high diving could become an Olympic discipline, but said more countries needed to take up the sport for it to feature as part of a future programme.

High diving made its World Championships debut in 2013 in Barcelona.

"It is an exciting and beautiful competition, but to be an Olympic sport you need a minimum 100 federations to practise the sport," Maglione said.

"We must wait but we will maintain the sport in the World Championships."

An indication of the height of the high diving competition