Team Ireland diver Oliver Dingley has failed to make it past the preliminary round in the 3m springboard diving competition at the Tokyo Olympics.

In the 29-man field Dingley – who reached the final of the event on his Olympic debut in Rio five years ago – finished 25th. A poor second dive proved his undoing.

"I've definitely had the highs and lows of Olympic experiences now. I felt a bit useless, I was just looking back at the scoreboard there.

“But at the same time to stand out there on the diving board representing my family, friends, loved ones, coaches, Team Ireland and the whole country, I'm very proud,” he said.

He finished with a combined a score of 335.00. Eighteen divers went through to the semi-final, but his score was well short of the 388.05 achieved by the diver who secured the last of the qualifying spots.

All the divers completed six dives in the Tokyo Aquatics Centre. Dingley achieved a score of 63.0 with his first dive and it proved his best effort. His second dive earned him a score of just 40.3 and he dropped from 22^nd to 27^th on the leader board.

He had subsequent scores of 59.30, 54.00, 57.00 and 61.20. But he remained out of the top 20 throughout the competition and so bowed out.

"It's tough to swallow but that's high-level sport. You make one mistake in the air, and it gets exaggerated and it's a snowball effect. Especially in my second round, it got a bit tough. I lost my balance on the diving board and it was always going to be a challenge to pull it back from there at this level. Those guys competing there are phenomenal.

“My result is not as good as Rio, an Olympic final. I came into this really you know to enjoy the moment and do well and I'm proud but at the same time I just wish I could have made a few changes in the air but that's high-level sport and it happens.

"It's definitely been a five-year stint like no other, that's for sure. I mean personally for me, there were moments throughout these five years that I found very, very tough. So, to get myself onto the diving board today and to qualify for the Olympic Games I feel extremely proud.”