Team GB's place at the top of the diving medals table at the European Games was confirmed tonight as Matty Lee secured gold in the showpiece men's platform event.
The 17-year-old produced some stunning dives on his way to victory, eventually finishing ahead of his nearest rival - Russia's Nikita Shleikher - by more than 30 points.
Sports Mole caught up with Lee shortly afterwards for a chat about his gold-winning performance.
Congratulations Matty! How does gold feel?
"It feels very heavy! The gold medal here is one of the biggest medals and heaviest medals I've ever got in my life. I'm so happy with my performance and I can't believe that I came out with gold."
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Some of your scores there were outrageous - 86.4, 86.4, 81. Is it nice to not only win but do so emphatically?
"Yeah, definitely. Sometimes when you're doing a competition it can be very close and that puts pressure on you because you've got to keep doing really well with every dive. If the other person is doing as well as you, you've got a bit more pressure to do well. But this competition was the most consistent competition I've ever done in my life - I scored 9 on the first three dives, and that gave me a lot more confidence for my last two dives. Obviously that's what I needed to get gold."
You came second in the prelim this morning - did that give you confidence to think you could go one better tonight?
"Yeah, exactly. I think my prelim went really well - my last dive I obviously landed a bit short on my back, but I thought myself I'd save a good one for the final. I don't mind doing bad in the prelim as long as I know I can get into the final, because I know I can step up my game."
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You've been out at senior comps for a while now - do you think that has helped coming back into a junior comp?
"Most definitely. I haven't done a junior comp in the last two years. The last time I did one was 2013 at the Junior European Championships. I did really well - I got gold on 3m, bronze on 1m and silver on platform. But being on the senior trips for two years, I've gained so much experience and I most definitely think it's helped me with my performance today. I've gone into those competitions and done actually quite well - not got a medal but I've done quite well. So it gives me more confidence for this competition because it's not as high a level and everyone's junior."
You had to wait until the last day to get involved here. Has it been a frustrating wait for you?
"Yeah, it's always frustrating. Men's 10m platform is always the last day and it's always annoying, because you see all these other athletes - Lois Toulson finished on the first day of competition! The rest of the team are finished and went to see the big Baku flag today - me and Matthew Dixon weren't allowed, obviously, because we had to rest and regain energy and strength. It is annoying but if it brings out a gold medal it's worth it!"
How are you going to celebrate tonight?
"In the village we have 24/7 food, and we've been trying to eat healthily all week so we've been avoiding all of the cookies and muffins. I think tonight we're going to pig out and just enjoy our last night. We're flying home quite late tomorrow so I get to experience the Baku town. I haven't been into the city centre, I haven't seen any of that yet. I really wanted to because I've seen so many pictures and it looks amazing."
Neil Wilkes
