12 May 2024 , 07:30
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From London 2012 to Paris 2024, Ripon’s debonair diving highflyer Jack Laugher will embark on a fourth Olympic Games with only medals on his mind.
The 29-year-old knows more than most the significance of his selection to Team GB’s squad following a turbulent cycle leading up to Tokyo 2020 where the 3m specialist battled with his mental health to make it onto the board.
Laugher secured a brilliant bronze last time around and Paris 2024 marks eight years since his Rio 2016 triumph when he swooped to gold alongside Chris Mears in the Games’ famously green-tinged pool.
He forms a partnership with Olympic debutant Anthony Harding this time round – one of four formidable synchro pairs who are among the first divers of Team GB’s squad to be selected for Paris 2024.
(PA)Laugher said: “Rio feels like yesterday but it also feels like it actually was eight years ago. I’ve changed a lot and this is my third partnership with a different synchro partner.
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“It’s exciting taking Anthony into his first Olympic Games as well so I’m really looking forward to it and hoping it’s as good as it can be. It’s been different, both times, Chris and Dan (Goodfellow) had been to Olympics before and Anthony hasn’t.
“It’s ignited that spark in me that I needed as I’m getting older and as athletes do age, it’s important to keep that fire burning and taking somebody into that is keeping that going. I’m so proud of each medal for different reasons but mentally that bronze medal meant so much to me because of everything I overcame to get there.
“It’s a difficult one to speak about but it’s a fond one to look back on and to know how strong I can be. I’ve learned from that and it’s made me a stronger athlete.”
Jack Laugher celebrates on the podium with the bronze medal for the Men's 3m Springboard at Tokyo 2020 (PA)Laugher is among the 1,000-strong cohort of elite athletes on UK Sport’s National Lottery-funded World Class Programme, allowing him to train full time, have access to the world ’s best coaches and benefit from pioneering medical support.
Harding, who travelled six days a week from Manchester to Leeds for training growing up, also benefits from the unwavering support. The 23-year-old has trained with Olympians since the age of 16 and has built up to Games-medalling contention alongside Britain’s first-ever Olympic diving champion Laugher.
He said: “It hasn’t really sunk in, I’ve been thinking that I’ve been surrounded by these amazing Olympians every day. The way I can describe it is that they give you hope but to actually do it, you have to believe in yourself.
“Competing alongside Jack, it just shows that it’s hard to get into this team and with him alongside me make this unbelievable.
“I’m super happy I’ve finally achieved something that I can be really proud of.”
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