Jack Laugher and Chris Mears win GOLD at Rio 2016 Olympics

Laugher and Mears led from the halfway stage and held off late pressure from gold medal favourites China and the USA.

It is the first time Great Britain has ever won an Olympic gold medal in a diving event.

The City of Leeds pair totalled 454.32 points from their six dives, finishing with a flourish and their best score of 91.20 in the final round.

USA secured a shock silver after producing the dive of the competition in the final round to score a massive 98.04 - piling the pressure on Laugher and Mears in the process.

The Chinese pair of Yuan Cao and Kai Cin required 96 points from their final to nick the gold but they felt the pressure and ended up with a bronze.

Laugher, 21, and Mears, 23, made a composed start and placed second behind China after the opening two mandatory dives with scores of 52.80 and 53.40.

Cao and Qin then produced a below par effort in their forward 2½ somersault 2 twists and allowed Laugher and Mears to go into the lead at the half way point.

The inward 3 1/2 somersaults has notoriously been the pair's bogey dive but they scored 85.68 in round four to extend their advantage at the top.

But the Chinese pair set up a tense finale with the best dive of the fifth round, closing the gap to Laugher and Mears to three points with an impeccable reverse 3½ somersaults to score 90.30.

Going first of the medal contenders in the final round, the US pair of Dorman and Hixon piled the pressure on the Laugher and Mears with a sensational final dive.

But the Brits responded with 91.20 to guarantee themselves of a silver medal with only the Chinese pair capable of taking gold away.

And the pressure told on Cao and Cin as they could only make 83.22 to spark the celebrations in the British camp.