Young divers Ben Cutmore and Desharne Bent-Ashmeil scooped Great Britain’s first gold at the European Aquatics Championships in Belgrade.
Competing in the mixed synchronised 3m springboard final, the British pair stormed the competition, finishing over eight points ahead of Sweden’s Elias Petersen and Emilia Nilsson Garip in second.
Their total of 268.50 was enough to earn 19-year-old Bent-Ashmeil a second European Championships gold to add to her women’s 3m synchro from 2023.
For 21-year-old Cambridge-born Cutmore, it was a second European gold and his fourth podium overall, after winning the 10m synchro in Rome two years ago.
Britain’s 2022 Commonwealth Games pairing Cutmore and Bent-Ashmeil were overlooked for Team GB’s diving squad for Paris 2024.
The duo improved as the final progressed, taking on a brace of 2.0 difficulty dives to leave them third in the standings.
A mistimed back 2.5 somersault pike kept them clinging onto a podium place, but they found their rhythm when it really mattered.
One forward 2.5 somersault twist pike later, Cutmore and Bent-Ashmeil sat atop the table, with an inward 2.5 somersault pike confirming they would be champions.
Their final two dives made up just over 47% of their points.
Two-time champ Guy feeling ‘calm’
Gearing up for his third Olympic Games, the freestyle and butterfly specialist from Bury is hoping for more titles after winning gold in two team events in Tokyo.
“When it gets to the Olympics, I am very calm and very relaxed. Whatever you do for the Olympics is the same as what you do for club championships,” said Guy.
“Your race process will never change no matter where you are, so I just treat it the exact same as anything else with that little bit more of importance.
“The Olympics is the biggest thing we can do as an amateur kind of sport. Tokyo was three years ago and it was amazing to finally get the Olympic gold that I have always wanted.
“I was waiting for that Olympic gold for a long time, five, six years and hopefully we can get something similar out in Paris as well.”
And on switching up his training schedule, Guy said: “I wasn’t happy with the results that I was getting out of myself, and I wanted a change for Olympic year. That’s what I did into Tokyo, and so far, it’s really worked.