Baildon diver Sam Thornton admitted he had to pinch himself after marking his Australian Youth Olympic Festival debut with silverware.

The 16-year-old had to wait until today - day three of the Festival - to make his bow in the three-metre synchronised springboard event alongside fellow Brit Freddie Woodward.

And all that waiting around clearly gave Thornton itchy feet as he and Woodward scored 325.92 to claim silver, with gold going to China.

Thornton is far from finished Down Under as he quickly returns to the Sydney International Aquatic Centre for tomorrow's ten-metre platform event.

And, after beginning the Festival with a medal, the Woodhouse Grove School pupil insists his confidence couldn’t be higher.

“This was the first time Freddie and I had ever competed together in the synchro, so to win a medal on our first time is fantastic,” said Thornton.

“We were looking good from the beginning as we started off with two solid dives and then we had a little bit of a shaky middle but pulled it through with our last dive, and we were both really happy with how we ended it.

“It is phenomenal to have this Olympic medal around my neck. I came here hoping to get personal bests and do my best but this is better than I could have dreamt for really.”

Thornton’s heroics took place in the same venue used for diving at the Sydney 2000 Olympics - something he insists made the moment all the more special.

“Competing in an Olympic venue does give you added inspiration as some of my heroes would have dived off the same board as me now,” he added.

“People I love to watch would have been on the same boards, so to think I won a medal on the same ones is just amazing.”

Also competing in the Festival are gymnast Nile Wilson from Pudsey, hockey players Sam French from Addingham and Suzannah Petty from Leeds, diver Joshua Dowd from Leeds and triathletes Gordon Benson and Georgia Taylor-Brown from Leeds.

Wilson helped Britain take gold in the men’s artistic team event yesterday, scoring 250.050 points to China’s  243.050.


They now move on to Sunday's all-around and apparatus events.

BEN BAKER

* The British Olympic Association prepare and lead British athletes at the summer, winter and youth Olympic Games.

They work in partnership with sport national governing bodies to enhance Olympic success and are responsible for championing the Olympic values – see www.olympics.org.uk.