James Heatly wins European Championship diving bronze medal

Capital diver James Heatly secured a bronze medal at the European Championships in Ukraine.

James Heatly, right, and Freddie Woodward on their way to winning the bronze medal in the men's 3m synchro springboard

Edinburgh Diving Club’s Heatly, 20, took on Olympians from Russia, Ukraine and Germany in the 3m men’s synchro final alongside partner Freddie Woodward (City of Sheffield) on Saturday.

The ppair were in fourth place heading into the final two dives. They scored 77.51 for their inward 3 1/2 somersaults-tucked in the fifth round.

And the duo then excelled in the last round to score 78.54 for their front 2 1/2 somersaults double-twist-piked to pip the Germans for the bronze with a score of 393.39.

Gold went to Ilia Zakharov and Evgenii Kuznetsov (Russia) with 427.71 points while Ilya Kavasha and Oleg Kolodiy (Ukraine) took silver with a score of 426.96.

Last month Heatly and Woodward won a gold medal for Great Britain at the FINA Grand Prix in Puerto Rico and the partnership looks like having a big future.

Yesterday, Edinburgh Diving Club team-mate Grace Reid, 21, just missed out on a medal, finishing fourth with partner Katherine Torrance in the 3m women’s synchro final.