Daley and Waterfield pay high price for one error

Daley is the poster boy of the British Olympic team and appeared on his way to a first Olympic title at the age of 18 as he and Waterfield led the 10m synchro event at the halfway stage.

With the exquisite Chinese pairing of Cao Yuan and Zhang Yanquan breathing down their necks, the British duo could ill-afford any slip-ups.

But a fluffed fourth dive, when Waterfield was most culpable after over-rotating his back three-and-a-half somersaults, saw them crash from first to fourth.

The crowd that cheered so passionately every step they took, let out a collective gasp at the howler.

The score for the dive was 71.28, by far the worst of the round, and although they gathered themselves for the final two dives, they could not dethrone the American pairing who moved into the bronze spot as they tumbled from the top step.

It was a hard defeat to swallow for the British duo who had the Olympic title in the palm of their hands. “It is tough to see other people going and standing on the podium where you wanted to be but that’s sport for you and that’s going to give us more motivation and more drive towards the individual event,” said Daley, who competes againt Waterfield in the 10m platform on Thursday week.

“The last two dives were brilliant but it’s just not enough on the day.

“It started off really well. We got a PB in the first two. The third dive was really good.

“It was just our fourth dive. If you miss one dive like that, you’re gone. It is the way sport goes. It’s annoying but what can you do?”

Waterfield said afterwards that he apologised to Daley for the low mark. At least there was not the animosity between the two that there had been when Daley made his Olympic debut as a 14-year-old alongside Blake Aldridge.

That combustible pairing had a very public falling-out between rounds in Beijing, but at least this time, Daley and his team-mate were singing from the same hymn sheet.

They competed in front of a massive crowd inside the aquatics centre – including Prime Minister David Cameron – that was willing them to victory.

“The crowds have been amazing,” said Daley. “I’m getting emotional thinking about it. It was all we dreamed of and to come fourth was so agonising after training so hard.

“We’ve got the individual events to look forward to and hopefully we’ll get back on our game.

“We did well to stay in fourth and the home crowd really did lift us after that and gave us the drive and determination to come back and do two solid dives.

“At the end of the day if we had got nine points more we would have been on that podium.

“It’s upsetting that I haven’t been able to realise my Olympic dream with Pete and win a medal, but we’re going to go back to Southend to our holding camp and train there and be back ready for the individual event.”

Londoner Waterfield, who at 31 is 13 years Daley’s senior, could not hide his disappointment at finishing fourth. He said: “It’s the worst place to finish at an Olympics. I’d rather finish last because at least then you know you’ve missed every dive.”

Daley and Waterfield’s failure came after Daley had claimed in the lead-up that Cao and Zhang could be vulnerable under pressure in their first Olympics.

“I think it’s only Tom that thinks that,” said 17-year-old Cao, who together with his partner has not been beaten since last year’s world championships.

“He thinks I can’t go through pressure, that I might crumble. But it’s only his opinion. I’ve never felt like that.”