Great Britain's Jack Laugher has been forced to settle for a silver medal at the FINA Diving World Series in Guangzhou City.
The 22-year-old collected gold at the season opener in Beijing last week and had been on course to repeat the feat today but botched his final dive to slip to second place.
Laugher had put in a strong performance to lead the pack with a 20-point margin after the first five dives, including a stunning score of 105.30 for his most ambitious effort, the forward 2-1/2 somersaults with 3 twists.
The gold medal seemed almost certain with one jump to go, but Laugher failed to straighten up in time upon entry with his back 3-1/2, earning him a score of just 59.40.
China's Xie Siyi instead took top honours, with his final tally of 556.20 comfortably ahead of Laugher's 529.05.
Cao Yuan took the final spot on the podium for China, with his total of 519.80 enough to hold off a late fightback from Germany's Patrick Hausding, who scored 509.90.
Mexico's Rommel Pacheco delivered 504.15 for fifth spot, while Russia's Ilya Zakharov finished last with a score of 495.85.
Final leaderboard - men's 3m:
1. Xie Siyi (CHN) - 556.20
2. Jack Laugher (GBR) - 529.05
3. Cao Yuan (CHN) - 519.80
4. Patrick Hausding (GER) - 509.90
5. Rommel Pacheco (MEX) - 504.15
6. Ilya Zakharov (RUS) - 495.85
Jack Laugher dive-by-dive scorecard:
1. Forward 2-1/2 somersaults 2 twists (3.4 DD) - 91.80
2. Reverse 3-1/2 somersaults (3.5 DD) - 92.75
3. Inward 3-1/2 somersaults (3.4 DD) - 86.70
4. Forward 2-1/2 somersaults 3 twists (3.9 DD) - 105.30
5. Forward 4-1/2 somersaults (3.8 DD) - 93.10
6. Back 3-1/2 somersaults (3.6 DD) - 59.40
Neil Wilkes
