The Chinese pair were heavy favourites going into the competition having won three consecutive world titles. Lian and Yang competed against the British duo in Qatar earlier this year, with the former taking home the gold.

Lian and Yang scored a total of 490.35 points from six rounds with their final dive -a forward 4½ somersault in the tuck position— earning them a 103.23 mark. The Team GB pair finished with a 463.44 overall and Canadians Rylan Wiens and Nathan Zsombor-Murray came in third with 422.13.

The second-place finish is still a historic win for Daley, who became the first diver to win three Olympic medals in the event. It’s also the fifth medal for the five-time Olympian who made his debut as a 14-year-old at the 2008 Beijing Games. Daley retired from the sport after winning gold in Tokyo and did not compete for two years. The 30-year-old was persuaded to come out of retirement when his son Robbie said he wanted to see his 'Papa' dive at an Olympics.

As for Williams, it's his first Olympic medal after debuting three years ago in Tokyo.

"I'm just over the moon for both of them, there's been a lot going on. Behind the scenes, there's a lot of things most people don't realise in an athlete's life... to come and achieve silver medals today was absolutely brilliant. China was just too good for us today," Daley's trainer Jane Figueiredo told the BBC.