Jack Laugher column: Looking ahead to European test

I didn’t finish on the podium in the individual or synchro in the last round in Kazan but for me this year on the World Series has been about shaking the cobwebs out, especially with the injury I had in January.

I managed to slice my foot open on the board but it meant I had to take a month out of the water so it set me back a little bit after doing all my winter training.

But the final couple of rounds of the World Series I felt like I was starting to perform at a level I wanted to be at so it bodes well for the European Championships which are next up.

It was always going to be difficult to match last season’s World Series where I won the overall 3m springboard title.

That was a brilliant achievement but this year there was a different focus and it was more about consistency.

It feels like we’ve been competing pretty solidly for the last couple of months now so after the Europeans we have a block of solid training scheduled until the Nationals so that will be good to iron out any issues and work on a few things.

Having said that, I’m really looking forward to the European Championships in London in a couple of weeks’ time.

It’s great that it’s at home in London and we can have the crowd right behind us.

Myself and my synchro partner Chris Mears are in a good place at the moment so it will be good to show the judges and everyone what we can do going into Rio.

It’s all about consistency too and making sure we are getting our performances right at the right time.

Last week saw the 100 days to go milestone for the Olympic Games in Rio.

The Team GB kit looks really good and it’s always exciting when the kit is revealed.

But it also scares me a little bit when we have all these milestones and people start to countdown.

There’s still a lot of training time left between now and Rio, so there’s a lot of work to be done yet.

It’s also a balance of making sure we give our bodies the right rest too. As I said we’ve been competing pretty solidly for the last three months and that definitely takes its toll on your body.

In my spare time I do like to do a bit of cooking – each week I will try and cook a new dish which can either end in disaster or be really good!

I went out to a restaurant recently and had a really nice king prawn linguine.

I thought about what ingredients were in it and then attempted to replicate it at home from memory.

It actually tasted really good – although I didn’t cook it for my housemate and diving partner Chris in case it didn’t turn out well.

It’s important to eat healthily but also have a variety to your diet otherwise it can all get a bit boring.

l Aldi are proud supporters of Team GB. Read more from Jack Laugher at www.teamgb.com/homegrownheroes.