Most athletes who pass the age of 30, while still competing, become acutely aware of numbers, which take on added significance in the latter years of their career.

Each hour in training perhaps hurts a little more than it used to, while each – rare – day off is revelled in with greater enthusiasm following decades of dedication to achieving peak physical condition and performance. 

Podium places of course matter too and for Jack Laugher there are already many striking statistics which emphasise just how successful he has been during a medal-laden career; four Olympic honour, including gold at Rio 2016, eight World Championship medals and seven Commonwealth titles, make him one of Europe’s most decorated divers in history.

Many of those are proudly displayed, alongside those won by his British Olympic team-mate and partner Lois Toulson at their home in Yorkshire, UK.

Laugher claimed the latest of his Olympic honours at Paris 2024, where he took silver alongside Antony Harding, before placing seventh individually.

Ahead of the Games the diver had suggested he would likely only focus on the synchronised competition ahead of LA 2028, but experiences in France transformed his mindset.

“I'd stop if I knew I didn't have it in me anymore, but I think that my training now, but especially at the Olympic Games, really showed me I've definitely still got it,” Laugher tells World Aquatics ahead of his return to the Diving World Cup circuit in Guadalajara (MEX). 

“I can still try and challenge for medals and potentially top spot as well, but in what is realistically going to be my last four year cycle (to LA 2028), my main goal is to enjoy the process, the experience and that starts in Mexico.”

From Climbing Podiums To Mountains

Unlike the majority of his peers who took time away from pursuits which required high intensity, energy and time requirements in the months following Paris 2024, Laugher, together with Britain’s double Olympic platform medallist Noah Williams, took a different approach.

The pair signed up to scale Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, a nearly 5,000-meter-high colossus that the springboard specialist describes as both “great” but also “horrible.”

“At the Olympics, Noah and I saw a video of people climbing mountains,” he recalls. “I did a little bit of research and found out that climbing Mount Kilimanjaro was actually quite feasible, but until we got to the airport it felt like it was a bit of a joke.

Laugher continues; “It was really difficult, particularly the final day when you’re going for the summit, because you start at midnight and trek through the night for over six hours in the snow and you’re very sleep-deprived.

“Then there’s the altitude, which means the oxygen levels are about half what they are at ground level, but we were 100% committed.”

The diver admits he only learned during the trek that other Olympians had attempted the feat, only to fail in their mission, something Laugher admits was “scary” to hear.

“I wouldn’t say I got the ‘bug’ for it and don’t plan to do more, but climbing the mountain 5095m above sea level is something I’m incredibly proud of, as was raising money for charity.

“I did it in aid of a charity called ‘The Trevor Project’ which was picked by my brother which focuses around LGBT, especially the gay and trans community with mental health awareness and suicide prevention, so it was for fun, but also an amazing cause.”

Retirements Lead To Reflections 

Following the retirement of Tom Daley and the departure of fellow Olympic medallists Daniel Goodfellow and Matty Lee from the sport in recent months, the latter due to injury struggles, Laugher has gained a greater appreciation of his position as an active athlete.

Were he to reach the next Games then Los Angeles 2028 would represent his fifth Olympics, an achievement only one other British diver, Daley himself, has achieved before.

“Four years is a long time, and there might always be a reappearance by Mr Daley; we never know, right,” he says with a wink, in reference to Daley’s surprise return to the sport ahead of Paris 2024.

“For now, though, I’m the last competitor (from the Team GB London 2012 line-up), and you know it’s been quite difficult seeing close friends peel away from the sport, some retiring through injury, and that can strike at any moment. 

“I'm just really trying to enjoy these competitions, these amazing travel (experiences) with my partner (Lois Toulson) and with it being a different team this year I hope that I can bring some stability and wisdom to the team.”

World Cups A ‘Stepping Stone’ To Singapore 2025

Laugher says he is feeling “very positive” ahead of his first international outing since the Paris 2024 Olympic Games and aims to make “steady” progress at each of the World Cup stops in Guadalajara, Mexico (3-6 April) and Windsor, Canada (10-13 April).

He then hopes to qualify for the Super Final in Beijing, China (2-4 May), ahead of the World Aquatics Championships in Singapore, where the diving programme will run from 26 July to 3 August.

“I'm going to be competing in both the 3m individual and the 3m synchro, but it’s going to be quite a stripped-back version of my regular (diving) list, which is exciting because it gives me a couple of months still until the World Championships in Singapore,” he says.

“I think having four Olympic medals, there is highly motivated part of me that wants more, but there’s also the realist within me which is thinking, ‘look, I'm really happy with what I've done’ so although I’ll be striving for those medals, I’m going to take the pressure off myself.”

Following the departure of coach Adam Smallwood, who has taken up a role as Performance Lead Coach in Edinburgh, Laugher has switched his training base from Leeds to Sheffield.

It represents only a small change geographically, but is a significant move as he seeks to focus on the “enjoyment” factor ahead of LA2028.

“We've got a bigger group (in Sheffield) and I know that I'm kind of looking staring down the barrel of retirement potentially in the next few years, so I wanted to just really enjoy my training and be part of that group where we can all help each other.

“I've been working with my new coach, Tom Owens. I had a positive National Championships, and I’m in a good place.”

Singapore 2025 would be Laugher’s ninth World Championships, coming 14 years after his debut at Shanghai 2011 and despite claiming victories at Olympic, European, Commonwealth and British Championships, there is one title he is still aiming to attain before retirement.

“I would love to get a gold in every single possible event and the World Championships, that’s the one that's missing,” he says with a smile.

“I've just turned 30 and you don't get many 30-year-old World champions in this sport and maybe I can change that, but I really just want to try and enjoy my diving, soak it all up and not put too much pressure myself.”