Jack Laugher able to relax after ensuring place at 2024 Paris Olympics

Like the sort that builds on his shoulders ahead of a world championship, when a spot at the next Olympics is on the line.

That was exactly the case for Laugher and his City of Leeds clubmate Anthony Harding on Saturday going into the final of the 3m synchro springboard at the World Aquatics Championship in Fukuoka, Japan.

After an injury-hit build-up, the Harrogate diver, now 28, was taking nothing for granted and was as nervous as he always gets.

Good job he and 23-year-old Harding performed, then, the Yorkshire duo winning a silver medal – their second successive world championship silver to go with a European title and a Commonwealth Games gold in a little over a year – which came with the added significance of guaranteeing Team GB an Olympic spot in the men’s 3m synchro at Paris 2024.

Even for a diver of Laugher’s calibre, who debuted in London as a teenager, won a historic gold and silver in Rio and a bronze in Tokyo, the achievement is an important one.

"It's a massive weight off our shoulders,” said Laugher, who will contest the 3m individual later in the week. “It means we can have a proper pre-season, we don't have to rush into that competition (February's World Championships in Doha), because it's so early on in February. That causes quite a bit of stress and knowing that's your last chance saloon can be quite difficult.

"Luckily for me, this is Olympics number four and I've never had to get to that position before, so I'm really happy to have done it today.

“For me and Anthony, we've not talked too much about it, we don't want to make it into a bigger deal than it is but we've both been stressed and it's a really difficult thing, especially when you've got the French also getting a medal which knocks one qualifying place off today's competition.

"So it's difficult – but we are athletes, we got through it, we're warriors and we've done our job."

Laugher and Harding are not certain to be Team GB’s representatives in the 3m synchro in Paris but they are strong favourites.

Competition will come from within Yorkshire, among others, from Sheffield Ross Haslam and his Edinburgh-based partner James Heatly who won the British Championships last month.

Scarlett Mew Jensen and Sheffield’s Yasmin Harper won GB’s third synchronised silver medal at the event on Monday.

The pair scored 296.58 points to place second in Fukuoka, where China's Chang Yani and Chen Yiwen won gold, while Chiara Pellacani and Elena Bertocchi of Italy taking bronze.

GB's Lois Toulson and Andrea Spendolini-Sirieix won an historic silver in the 10m synchronised on Sunday, while Jack Laugher and Anthony Harding claimed a second successive World Aquatics Championships silver in the men's 3m synchro.

Toulson, 23 and 18-year-old Spendolini-Sirieix became the first British women to win a world diving medal.

Harper added that seeing Toulson and Spendolini-Sirieix celebrate success had been a massive boost going into the final.

"I think Lois and Andrea winning that medal yesterday really gave us some inspiration because we want that too, so going forward I think the girls have really got a good shot," she said.

British pair Matty Lee and Noah Williams narrowly missed out on a medal when they finished fourth in the men's 10m synchronised on the third night of finals.