It's the finals
of the men's synchronized three-meter springboard.
Once given only a 5% chance of survival,
Chris Mears said, "Screw that,"
and made it all the way to the Olympics.
But now, to win gold,
he faces even greater odds
battling an almost unbeatable force.
Wait for it.
I am not-soaking-wet-at-all Olympic gymnast Nile Wilson.
Let's dive right into our story.
Olympic diving goes all the way back to the 1904 Games.
But it was nearly 100 years before someone asked,
"What if we took this already crazy hard sport
and doubled the level of difficulty
by having two divers
mirror every twist, pike, and somersault,
at the same time?"
Ladies and gentlemen, synchronized diving.
Dealing with that difficulty may seem daunting to most,
but to Chris Mears,
after navigating the challenging
twists and turns of his life,
fine-tuning a forward-two-and-a-half
somersault-with-three-twist dive
was just another Tuesday.
When Chris was seven years old, he transitioned from gymnastics
to flipping into pools.
He took it like a duckling to water,
and eight years later,
he was competing for Great Britain.
But before his first dive,
the 16-year-old had collapsed
and had to be rushed into surgery.
The doctors discovered he'd developed an illness
that caused his spleen to rupture.
Chris lost liter after liter of blood.
His odds of survival were just 5%.
That was all Chris needed.
And within a few weeks, he was recovering at home.
Until...
Battling for survival for several weeks,
Chris was put in a medically-induced coma.
Doctors said he'd never dive again.
A few days later, Chris had woken up.
The teenager, who had just been competing
on an international level,
was practically bedridden.
Once again, the odds were stacked against him.
Perhaps not turning out the way we thought it might.
One, two, three, go.
Wait for it.
But as soon as Chris was medically cleared
to resume training,
he re-dedicated himself to diving
and chased his childhood dream, the Olympics.
And three years later,
with the Games in their backyard,
he was ecstatic to be selected to represent Great Britain.
Although Chris fell short of the podium this time,
it didn't diminish the euphoria
of catching what he'd been chasing
since he was seven years old.
He could have stopped there.
Instead, it ignited a new dream, Olympic gold.
Something a British diver had never done.
Chris partnered up with his close friend Jack Laugher.
They quickly became inseparable,
which gave them a leg up
on their quest to make a golden splash
in the diving world.
As the rain increases in intensity here,
and the conditions worsening...
Wait for it.
It's difficult to hide a foot-long scar wearing speedos.
This served as a constant reminder
of Chris's darkest times
and pushed him even harder to make Rio.
When the besties qualified for the 2016 Olympics,
they were ecstatic.
Before the confetti hit the floor,
they immediately recognized
the daunting task they had before them.
Chinese divers had dominated the sport for years.
Expectations in Rio?
A clean sweep.
Six rounds, one dive each.
Best total score wins.
And after the first two rounds, who had the lead?
The Chinese, the leaders, again.
As usual.
What happened next was anything but.
In the third round,
Chris and Jack tight-tucked themselves into the lead.
But the United States and China were nipping at their speedos.
The Americans were first up the ladder.
So here we go. We're back in business again.
Last dive for the United States.
Wow! Well done them!
How is that for mental fortitude?
98.04
for the United States of America!
Yep, that's pretty close to perfect.
And it put them in first.
Great Britain needed to score
better than 87 to retake the lead.
After coming back from 2 near-death experiences,
all Chris's hard work
has come down to these next two seconds.
Perhaps the gold medal's in Chris Mears,
who nearly lost his life in 2009 to diving,
and Jack Laugher,
the first British diver to become a World Junior champion.
Is he about to become the Olympic champion as well?
They pretty much nailed that!
87.1 will take them in front of the United States.
And they come up with a 91.2!
Totally time to celebrate, right?
Not so fast.
Chris had to wait for the Chinese team's final dive.
I didn't think it was good enough.
Really were.
This is the moment.
Will it be Great Britain or will it be China?
83.22 is not good enough for the Chinese.
It is Great Britain's day.
They win their first-ever medal
in the men's synchronized three-meter springboard.
And it is Chris Mears and Jack Laugher
who are going to be the Olympic champions.
And made history
by winning Team Great Britain's first-ever diving gold medal.
Chris literally went from death's door to Olympic glory.
Cheers to Mears for giving our country
its first diving gold.
Thus ends another splashy entry
into the stunning tales of Olympic triumph,
with many more to come.
You'll just have to... wait for it.
There's no clapping, I thought I'd at least get a clap.