Divers Samantha Mills and Esther Qin synchronise for bronze at Rio Olympic venue

AUSTRALIAN divers Samantha Mills and Esther Qin claim bronze at Rio Olympic venue in top hitout.

AUSTRALIAN duo Samantha Mills and Esther Qin continue to confirm their potential as Australian medallist at the Rio Olympics after diving to a bronze in the 3-metre synchro final at a World Cup meet in Rio on Sunday.

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The pair, who won bronze at last year’s world diving championships, have proved to be two of Australia’s most reliable and consistent performers on the world stage.

Mills and Qin have only finished outside the top three once in top-level competition over the past two years with their result in Rio at the venue hosting the Olympic competition another confidence booster.

“This was a tough competition for us,” Qin said.

“It was such a good experience for us to get a chance to compete at this year’s Olympic venue.

“And we got a good chance to see how everyone else was going in an Olympic year.”

South Australian diver Samantha Mills looking good for a medal in Rio

Mills and Qin were sitting in second place after the opening dive but fell back to fourth after the next three dives.

The pair held their nerve to then move back into the medals with the close call only motivating the air for future success.

“I kind of was a bit upset,” Mills admitted. “I didn’t think we were diving that well, the judges didn’t seem to like what we were doing.

“Our score was reasonable, but we’ve done better. Next time they better watch out, this will just make me more motivated.”

Originally published as Divers Samantha Mills and Esther Qin synchronise for bronze at Rio Olympic venue