Experience was key in the diving pool as Olympians took out all titles on offer on day two of the Australian Open Championships, currently underway at Aquanation in Ringwood, Victoria.

Gold was never in doubt for Olympic medallists Anabelle Smith and Maddison Keeney, who topped the Women’s 3m Synchro final standings with a commanding lead over the NSW pair of Brittany O’Brien and Esther Qin, and Kate Rosman and Alysha Koloi in third.

Smith and Keeney’s success put them in a great position for selection to the Australian Commonwealth Games Team for Birmingham 2022, as the Open Championships also double as nomination trials for the Commonwealth Games and World Championships.

Smith, who is eyeing off her fourth Commonwealth Games, relished the opportunity to be back diving at her best.

“It was really nice to be back diving with Maddi,” Smith said

“It felt good to have an opportunity to show all the hard work we have been putting in during training, after taking a long break in between competitions,” she said.

Smith will be back in the pool tomorrow to dive in the preliminary round of the Women’s 3m event, with finals scheduled on Saturday. Early next week she will travel to Canada for the FINA Diving Grand Prix event which will be held in Calgary, Alberta, from June 9 onwards.

“I'm just really grateful for this opportunity to showcase our skills,” she said.

“We've competed at the highest level for a long time now, so we're looking forward to getting back out there against the best in the world.”

In the Men’s 3m Synchro Shixin Li and Sam Fricker came from behind to secure gold after Lachlan Cronin and Vladimir Rudenko led the preliminary round standings by six points.

The two Tokyo Olympians chased hard in the final round, taking the lead after the fourth dive and holding on to claim the title.

After making his Olympic debut in Tokyo last year, 20-year-old Fricker hopes this victory puts him in the best position to be selected for a maiden Commonwealth Games appearance in Birmingham next July.

"It was incredible to be diving springboard again and first event diving with Shixin," Fricker said.

"He has some much knowledge and experience, and is the former World Champion, so I love diving with him and learning from him at the same time.

"I knew we had to go out there and win to be considered for World Championships and Commonwealth Games, and I was over the moon that we were able to.

"The pressure was on, the other boys were diving well and I'm just happy to come out on top - it was a tough event," he said.

It was a busy day at the office for Shixin Li, who doubled up his 3m Synchro title with a gold in the Men’s 1m Springboard.

The rest of the field could only compete for silver as Li started the final round with an unassailable 100-point lead, extending his advantage over the last six dives to finish ahead of Lachlan Cronin in second place and Vladimir Rudenko in third.

There are no finals scheduled for tomorrow, but Day Four of the 2022 Australian Open Championships still offers plenty of action in the pool with preliminary rounds of the 3m and Platform events held for both men and women, starting from 10am.

For the full competition schedule - click here

For live results - click here