Merewether diver Sam Fricker has revealed the moment his Aussie teammate pulled him aside before clinching a Commonwealth Games bronze medal together.
Fricker feels the calming influence of Shixin Li helped the pair reach the podium in Birmingham, finishing third in the men's synchronised 3m springboard.
"He [Li] helps me a lot," Fricker told Diving Australia media.
"You can see, he pulled me aside before that last dive, because there was a mishap in the competition. He was like, 'stay calm, we've done this in training, hold together and just execute'."
Fricker and Li, combining for their first international competition, dropped to fifth place after the second of six attempts and only put themselves back in medal contention with their penultimate dive.
"It feels incredible. I came here with a goal of just wanting to get a medal," Fricker said.
"I've been training with Shixin for a while now, but it's our first international camp ever, so to come away with the bronze medal, at the Commonwealth Games, it's amazing."
Fricker and Li recorded a total of 374.52, which was 2.25 points behind silver and 5.25 in front of fourth. English duo Anthony Harding and Jack David Laugher (438.33) were well clear on top.
The Aussies produced their highest-scoring dive last, with 75.48 awarded for a forward, two-and-a-half somersaults, two twist pike.
"It just fills me with excitement that I was able to come out here and be able to perform when I needed to. That feels great," the 20-year-old said.
The former Hunter School of Performing Arts student also said simply competing at his miaden Commonwealth Games, fresh from debuts at the recent World Championships and last year's Olympics in Tokyo, helped to "achieve a dream" and "takes a weight off my shoulders".
Following on from Friday night's final, just 24 hours later Fricker contested the equivalent individual event at Sandwell Aquatics Centre.
Fricker, who began his career at Lambton Pool but is now based in Sydney, finished 10th in the 3m springboard final. He completes his program with the 10m platform.
Elsewhere for Team Hunter at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, both Norths defender Matthew Dawson and Souths striker Mariah Williams will play for hockey gold medals.
The Kookaburras meet India on Monday night (9:30pm, AEST) after rallying to score three unanswered goals and edge past England 3-2 in the men's semi. The Hockeyroos beat India 3-0 in a penalty shootout on Saturday morning (AEST) to book a spot in the women's showdown with England.
