England diving starlet Jack Laugher has revealed to Sports Mole that he won't be trying his hand at platform diving in the near future.
The 19-year-old from Leeds is a springboard specialist and looks set to dominate the world stage for the next few years after a bronze medal at the recent World Cup in China and one gold already at Glasgow 2014.
Yesterday he won Commonwealth Games gold by a huge margin in the 1m springboard and he looks set for victory again in the 3m final tonight after breezing through qualification this morning.
The platform requires a different set of skills but some divers, like Australia's Matthew Mitcham, compete and win medals on both.
SM grabbed the 19-year-old for a word earlier and he said that he wouldn't be competing on the platform, for now at least.
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You're a platform specialist, but people like Matt Mitcham do springboard and platform. Could you see yourself doing both?
"Well I used to do 10m platform as a kid when I was 12 or 13 but unfortunately I broke my arm. I snapped it in half really bad and got pins and plates [put in].
"I was off 10m for quite a while and basically that's when I started my 3m career. That's when I started and that's when I realised this is pretty good.
"Now my body's adapted to 3m, it's kind of transformed. 3m is all about lower-leg strength and being able to push the board as hard as you can, while 10m is more about all-around [strength].
"3m is the one for me and I've just started my synchro career with Chris [Mears] so I've got a lot of events on my hands already.
"10m could maybe happen in the future, but for the moment in the near future, I'll definitely be sticking with 3m."
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How different are the two skill sets required?
"It's very different. It's almost like running a marathon and doing a 100m sprint, they're completely different boards.
"On 10m, every takeoff is roughly the same, but on 3m some people can land with their toes over the end of the board, in the corners, all over the place.
"They're very different sports. Both of them are a lot of fun, don't get me wrong, but I'm more suited to 3m and also I'm not the biggest fan of heights!
"I'm very comfortable on 3m. I'm really enjoying it and my career is taking off at the moment. Why start something new when you're starting to do so well?"
Laugher's final for the 3m is later tonight, while he and Mears go for gold in the 3m synchro final tomorrow lunchtime.
Pascal Lemesre
