China came out as the big winners in men's 3m springboard diving, with Xie Siyi and compatriot Wang Zongyuan snatching gold and silver, respectively. Great Britain's 26-year-old Jack Laughler, who won silver in the event at the 2016 Rio Olympics, finished with bronze.
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The two Chinese athletes ended the competition with breathtaking back-to-back dives, each worth a whopping 102.60 points.Â
Across his six dives, Xie finished with an Olympics record total of 558.75. Wang totaled 534.90, and Laughner nabbed 518.00 flat. Â
Xie, who started 12th in line, kicked off the competition with one of the night's highest-scoring moves: a pike position forward 2½ somersaults with 2 twists, which provided 91.80 dive points. The Chinese Olympian split his dives evenly between tucks and pikes, and consistently maintained a first or second dive rank throughout all six rounds. He scored over 90 points on four of his six dives.
At the end of the day, Wang was more than 20 points off his Chinese brethren; none of the other divers came close to Xie. He was one of only four divers to score above 90 points, which he managed on two of his six dives. The silver medalist maintained an overall second rank through the majority of the event, though Laughler nipped at his heels after the Brit scored a 96.90 fifth dive.
The Russian Olympic Committee's inconsistent Evgenii Kuznetsov showed flashes of brilliance toward the end of competition, scoring a 92.75 in his fifth dive and a 96.90 in his final effort for a total of 461.90. He placed fifth, behind South Korea's Woo Haram.
China also took gold in the event at the 2016 Rio Olympics, where Cao Yuan scored 547.60 points.Â