European Aquatics Championships: Jack Laugher & Anthony Harding win synchronised 3m springboard gold
- Published
Great Britain's Jack Laugher and Anthony Harding claimed the men's synchronised 3m springboard title at the European Aquatics Championships, as Noah Williams and Ben Cutmore both won medals in the men's 10m platform.
Laugher, 27, who won the 1m springboard title, and Harding, 22, ended more than 25 points clear of Italy in Rome.
Williams won his first major individual medal behind Ukraine's Oleksii Sereda.
Cutmore, 19, took bronze in his first major individual final.
Sunday's success in the final two diving events ensured Britain topped the medal table with six golds from the 13 diving finals - and 12 medals in all.
It is the British diving team's best-ever performance at the European Aquatics Championships, surpassing the three golds and 11 medals they won in 2016.
Britain - who also won 15 swimming medals, including four golds - were second in the overall medal table. Their total of 10 golds - and 27 medals in total - put them a distant second to hosts Italy (24 golds and 67 medals).
Laugher and Harding achieved their third major championship medal since their debut as a pairing at the World Championships in June.
They won World silver in Budapest, before clinching Commonwealth gold in Birmingham earlier in August.
"I'm really proud of what we've done in Anthony's first year on the biggest stage," Laugher told BBC Sport.
"Three medals from three - two golds and a silver - it's huge for us. I can't wait for next season."
Harding added: "I'm just trying to take this all in. To come away with three medals this year is just unbelievable. I'm so proud of Jack after yesterday."
The British pair made a solid start and held a narrow lead after the second round, before an excellent third dive scored 85.68 to move them more than 10 points clear of Ukraine's Oleksandr Horshkovozov and Oleg Kolodiy.
They responded superbly after a poor fourth attempt saw them overhauled by Italy's Lorenzo Marsaglia and Giovanni Tocci, scoring 84.36 with their penultimate dive.
With the pressure on, Italy faltered, while Laugher and Harding held their nerve to claim a dominant victory with a total score of 412.83.
Having won the 1m springboard earlier this week, Laugher, 27, struggled in the individual 3m final on Saturday, finishing fifth.
But, joined by Harding for another tilt at gold, he claimed his fifth European title - and first in the men's 3m synchro since 2016 - less than three weeks after becoming a seven-time Commonwealth champion.
In the final event of the 2022 championships, 22-year-old Williams claimed the silver, adding to his Commonwealth golds in both the men's and mixed synchronised 10m events, as well as a world silver alongside Matty Lee in June.
He led the way after his first two dives but a first mistake allowed the 16-year-old Sereda to move ahead at the halfway stage, before three stunning dives moved the Ukrainian out of sight.
Cutmore, who won the synchronised 10m platform title with Kyle Kothari on Friday, had been locked in a duel with Italy's Andreas Sargent Larsen after four dives, but the Briton finished strongest to join Williams on the podium.