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Oliver Dingley secures his place at the Tokyo Olympics

Irish diver made it into the top 18 in the 3m springboard at the Diving World Cup

Oliver Dingley of Ireland competes in the men’s 3m springboard preliminary on day five of the Fina Diving World Cup at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre. Photo: Toru Hanai/Getty Images

Wed May 5 2021 - 11:22

Rio 2016 finalist Oliver Dingley on Wednesday morning qualified for Tokyo 2021 Olympic Games at the FINA Diving World Cup.

Dingley needed to finish in the top 18 in the 3m springboard to achieve automatic qualification for his second Olympic Games and secured 15th .

The National Record-holder scored 399.75 points in the preliminary round, advancing to the semi-finals, which take place on Thursday morning from 2am and could yet see him improve his final position.

Tanya Watson, who on Tuesday became the first Irish female diver to qualify for an Olympic Games, finished her competition with a score of 295.50 points in the 10m Platform semi-final.

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Improving on the 271.85 points achieved in the preliminary round, the 19-year-old’s semi-final score is the highest she has ever posted in a FINA competition.

Reflecting, Damian Ball, national head coach for diving, said: “Another fantastic day and some top class performances from our divers.

“Ollie’s experience was clear today, he was consistent, confident, and hardly put a foot wrong. 16 months of no competitions hasn’t seemed to phase Ollie at all.

“Tanya dived with passion and enjoyment in her debut World Cup semi-final. 2 points was all that separated her from a spot in the final. The remainder of this season could be very promising for this young talent.”

The next stop for Watson is the LEN European Championship in Budapest, which begin on Monday, May 10th.