PARIS -- Tom Daley and Noah Williams held their nerve and won silver in men's 10-metre synchronised diving on Monday.
The British pair were always going to be an outside chance for gold, with China's Junjie Lian and Hao Yang winning gold on their Olympic debuts having won at the world championships for the past three years. Williams previously described the pair of them as the diving world's Erling Haaland.
Daley now has six Olympic medals from five Games, including his long-awaited gold in this event in Tokyo while it is Williams' first medal.
They have only dived together since November, rarely training as a pair outside of competition due to Daley living in Los Angeles. Daley said he decided to take part only in the synchronised event because it would help him achieve a better work-life balance. He has previously said he wants to be there for his kids the way his late father, Robert, was always there for him.
"For me this year it was having that sense of perspective, being able to balance being with my family and being able to train," Daley said. "It is the happiest I've been in diving in all of these years because diving wasn't necessarily my top priority."
Daley only returned to the diving pool last year after his eldest son, Robbie, asked if he would do it so he could see him dive.
"He's six years old now and I think he might remember some of this, but he has been most excited about the fact that there's a little bit of Eiffel Tower in the medal," Daley said. "So he's very excited to get to touch a little bit of the Eiffel Tower."
After the event, Daley said he is undecided about whether he will return for LA 2028.
"I live in L.A. now, so it could be a chance to do a second home Olympic games. But for right now, I just want to enjoy this moment and we'll see how it goes after that."
There was a lot for Daley and Williams to enjoy on Monday morning.
They delivered a superb first dive that saw them score 53.40 after performing an inward 1½ somersaults. It left them level with Canada, before both teams were topped by Chinese pair Lian and Yang as they carded 56.40 points from a near flawless forward dive.
"China were incredible. All of their dives were flawless ... I think what's interesting is being able to have the hope and have the belief that it is possible to beat the Chinese divers," Daley said.
Lian and Yang furthered their lead with every dive, leaving Daley and Williams in a battle with Canada's Ryan Wiens and Nathan Zsombor-Murray for silver. The two teams matched each other's scores on the next dive, despite Williams diving slightly out of sync with Daley, meaning they were tied after the two least difficult attempts.
The Brits took the lead over Canada as the optional dives began in Round 3. The two teams performed dives of equal difficulty, but Daley and Williams scored almost five points better.
Canada disappointed with their fourth dive -- the most difficult of their set -- while Daley and Williams delivered a huge score of 93.96 after opting for a slightly less challenging routine.
After that, it was Daley and Williams' to lose and they never let the silver medal slip. The duo delivered huge scores of 87.72 and 93.2 leaving them on 463.44 and ensuring they took second place.