Mark Shipman will put the disappointment of a last-placed finish behind him today as he dives for Commonwealth glory.

The Bradford-trained athlete will take to the water in the 3m Springboard - his strongest event - this afternoon, and believes a podium place is not beyond him.

Despite a promising performance in the heats of yesterday's 1m Springboard, a heavy splash in his third dive of the final left him languishing in sixth place.

But he will be hoping to follow in the footsteps of team-mates Tony Ally and Jane Smith, who picked up a silver and bronze between them on the opening day of the Manchester showpiece event.

"Today is my day," said Shipman, who spent the formative years of his career training in Shipley.

"The 3m is my strongest event and I will take what I learnt from yesterday into it. The crowd are worth an extra half-point a dive and are offering us wonderful support."

His brother Paul, from Saltaire, was among the 1,500 partisan crowd who gave the home contingent a great boost as the Commonwealth Games began in style.

The 29-year-old, whose former Bradford coach Andy Banks accompanied him to Manchester, finished a creditable fourth in the preliminary round and second in the semi-finals.

But he lost his way in the second and third dives of the final and there was no way back.

Canadian Alexandre Despatie grabbed the gold by 18 points, with Ally taking silver and Aussie Steven Barnett the bronze.