United States divers Sam Dorman and Michael Hixon came up short of a gold medal in men’s 3-meter synchronized diving at the 2016 Rio Olympics, taking silver to Great Britain’s gold by just 4.11 points.
Rio 2016 results: Great Britain takes gold in men’s 3m springboard synchronized diving, United States takes silver
Team USA couldn’t quite overcome Great Britain in the men’s 3-meter synchronized diving event, but a silver medal was a tremendous achievement after a rough start to the event.
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The Americans’ final dive was preceded by a bizarre scene. As Mexico’s divers were walked down their springboards, a light went on above them and seemingly distracted them. The judges debated for several minutes whether to let them redo the dive, then seemingly told them they could. When the Mexican divers got back to top of the boards, however, they were told that they, in fact, couldn’t re-dive.
Meanwhile, the Americans awaited their turns, in third place on the standings and getting cold. After much consternation, Team USA finally took its turn, and Dorman and Hixon gave a sensational effort, scoring 98.04 on the final dive to briefly put themselves in position to win gold.
Great Britain and China needed strong dives to surpass the United States. British divers James Laugher and Chris Mears scored 91.1 points with forward tucks and four-and-a-half rotations to put themselves in gold medal position with a final score of 454.32. China went last in the competition, and didn’t quite do enough to take better than bronze, scoring 443.70 points for the event.
Final podium men’s 3m springboard synchronized diving
Gold -- James Laugher and Chris Mears, Great Britain, 454.32 points
Silver -- Sam Dorman and Michael Hixon, United States, 450.21 points
Bronze -- Qin Kai and Cao Yuan, China, 443.70 points
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