SOUTHAMPTON diver Peter Waterfield proved Great Britain need not rely on Tom Daley for an Olympic medal on the 10metre platform after winning bronze at the FINA World Cup.
In a week when Daley's Olympic hopes have been questioned, his veteran team-mate proved he could be the man to steal the limelight this summer.
The 30-year-old defied a limited preparation due to injury just to reach the final, before stunning a vociferous sell-out Olympic Aquatics Centre crowd by snatching a podium place.
Waterfield had been seventh heading into his final back two-and-a-half somersault two-and-a-half twists, but after attracting scores of nine leapt up the leaderboard with a score of 510.35.
''There's life in the old dog yet,'' said Waterfield, who this week returned from two months out with back and side injuries.
''It's amazing. Like I said at the end of the week my preparation hasn't been great and I've had to dig really deep.
''Tonight the crowd really helped me on my way. Without them I could not have done this.''
Asked if he thought people might start talking about him rather than Daley, he added: ''Maybe yeah. It's nice to get on the rostrum. It's always nice to have people talk about you.''
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