Tom Daley has booked his place in tomorrow's 10m platform semi-final at the Tokyo Olympics.
The 27-year-old is already a gold medallist, having triumphed in the synchro event with Matty Lee last week, and is now aiming to improve on his individual bronze from London 2012.
Daley recovered from a shaky start and improved over the course of his six dives, saving his best for last - a 93.20 for his back 3-1/2 - to amass a total of 453.70 for a fourth-place finish in the prelims.
Teammate Noah Williams was unable to advance in the competition, meanwhile, never really finding his best form to ultimately finish 27th in a field of 29 divers.
The man to beat after the prelims stage is Yang Jian of China, whose score of 546.90 included a stunning forward 4-1/2 which was rewarded with 102.50 points.
Cao Yuan - also of China - was hot on his teammate's heels with a score of 529.30, while Aleksandr Bondar of the ROC was third with 513.85.
Elsewhere, there was heartbreak for Canadian starlet Rylan Wiens, who missed out on qualification by a tenth of a point, while Mexican veteran Ivan Garcia finished a disappointing 24th.
Neil Wilkes
