Grace Reid upbeat over Olympics despite missing medal in Gwangju

Grace Reid and Katherine Torrance of Great Britain in the women's 3m synchro springboard final in Gwangju. Picture: Lee Jin-man/AP

The 23-year-old from Edinburgh and her partner Kat Torrance were just 5.1 points off the podium with a score of 289.90 as China’s Wang Han and Shi Tingmao claimed gold.

The same position as the British pair achieved at the 2017 worlds in Budapest was enough to secure a valuable spot in next year’s Diving World Series but they will now to firm up their qualification for the Games before chasing glory in Japan.

“Obviously to be so close to that medal is frustrating but we left everything that we had out there today, so it’s bittersweet,” Reid said.

“The biggest thing I’ve noticed is our step up from training to competition is quite big and that’s a real asset. Some of the other teams maybe buckle under pressure so we’re going to take that in our stride and also work on those little things. Five points, it’s reassuring to know we are that close. But we’ve got stuff to work on and go away with.”

Competing in the fire pit of the World Series, where the Anglo-Scottish line-up earned a third place in the Beijing leg in March, will enhance their hopes of making a splash on the biggest stage of all. That Reid is based in London and Torrance in Leeds will not impede their chances. “We make time,” Torrance, 20, said. “Grace comes up. I travel down. We’ve done a lot of World Series this year and so we’ve spent more time with each other than anyone else.”

Reid will now focus on her solo turn in the 3m springboard which starts on Thursday and the quest for the top 12 finish needed to earn an automatic berth for the British team in Tokyo.

And the Scot added: “It’s in my head but at the end of the day, diving well is more important. That will take care of the result. First thing is prelim, then semi and there’s another push to get to that point.”

Tom Daley and Matty Lee claimed the UK’s second medal of the championships with bronze in the 10m synchro. The pair, brought together last winter, saw a few minor faults dent their chase for silver as Cao Yuan and Chen Aisen took victory for China.

But getting the top three placing needed to proceed straight into the eight-strong field in Tokyo was a massive reward, Daley underlined.

“To get it that far out in advance – I’ve never been in this position with any synchro partner in the past. We train together every single day for the next year after only being together for eight months. That’s really promising. We know if we dive our best, we’re on the hunt with everyone.”