Triple Commonwealth Games gold medallist Tom Daley admits he couldn’t have asked for a better start to 2016 after winning the men’s 10m platform title at the British National Diving Cup in Southend.

Daley, who won 10m platform gold at both the 2010 and 2014 Commonwealth Games, finished with a final total of 545.80 points to secure top spot ahead of Matty Lee and Dan Goodfellow.

The 21-year-old will also be trying to earn a 10m synchro spot at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games alongside Goodfellow and the duo had their first competition together in Southend, although ended up as the only competitors due to a power cut.

But it was the 10m platform triumph that left Daley most content.

“I’m pretty happy with how it went,” he said. “Missing my inward 3 ½ Somersaults, one of my easiest dives, definitely made me fight for gold even more, especially with Matty [Lee] diving fantastically.

“545 is a good score at the start of the season and that performance has really shown me that I can perform well no matter what.

“Every year, I start a little bit better than the one before. I’ve been working really hard and I feel like I’m in the best shape I ever have been so I’m really excited about the year ahead.”

Tonia Couch added to her 10m synchro silver medal alongside 16-year-old Lois Toulson with gold in the women’s 10m platform while Glasgow 2014 gold medallist Rebecca Gallantree was victorious in the women’s 3m springboard.

Freddie Woodward won a bronze medal at the last Commonwealth Games but proved he is rounding into top form for an Olympic year by winning double gold in Southend.

The 20-year-old triumphed in the 1m springboard before holding off Chris Mears and James Heatly to add 3m springboard gold to his collection and believes he is in the form of his life.

“I came here looking for a medal of any colour, and in either event, so to win two golds demonstrates that I am in a much better shape that I was last year,” said Woodward.

“I missed this competition due to injury last year and I found that tough but my time off has meant that I have been able to put in all the hard work that is necessary for a personal best performance.

“I feel like I am diving better than I have ever done before. It is a really incredible feeling.”

Sportsbeat 2016