Harrogate teenager Laugher qualifies for diving climax at Shanghai finals

The 16-year-old from Harrogate produced a consistent series of dives to finish with 436.60 points.

“I’m really happy to have made that final,” said Laugher, who finished 33rd overall in the 1m Springboard earlier in the week.

“It feels so good to be in there at my first World Championships. The 1m wasn’t my best performance but I used that as a way of getting into the competition.

“I’ve learned so much from being here and I’m just loving the experience so far,” said the Yorkshire teenager.

He Chong edged out Chinese countryman Qin Kai by just 0.25pts to qualify first with Ilya Zakharov in third.

Tonia Couch finished ninth in the 10 metre platform final in Shanghai.

The Plymouth diver was in ninth throughout the competition, apart from when she jumped to seventh after the second round.

The 22-year-old finished with 315.05 points to finish one place lower than at the last World Championships in Rome two years ago.

It was Couch’s second final in the outdoor diving pool at the Oriental Sports Centre after she finished fourth alongside Sarah Barrow in the 10m synchro – the pair becoming the most successful British female divers in World Championships history.

By reaching the final, Couch had guaranteed a British quota place for the event in London next summer.

China continue to dominate the diving with Chen Ruolin and Hu Yadan filling the top two places and Paola Espinosa of Mexico in third.