Mat Cowen improved once again to record his best finish so far in the Welsh leg of the Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series.

The Cross Roads man came fifth in front of his home crowd in Anglesey, building on his previous best placing of seventh at Scaliger Castle in Italy.

That continued improvement from his disappointing start to the season in La Rochelle, France, where he finished last, shows just how far Cowen has come.

The 25-year-old was delighted with his performance after recovering from a back injury to compete back where it all began for him last year.

He said: “It was just the best I’ve dived all year and it was in front of my home fans, which was brilliant.

“It was a bonus having them behind me because there were 65 of my friends and family there but it doesn’t take away from what you have to do because you hope to perform at your best wherever you go.

“It’s given me a fair amount of confidence as well because I was a bit apprehensive about how my back was going to hold up.

“But it held up just fine which really showed in the way I dived.”

The result means Cowen closed the gap on eighth-placed fellow Brit Blake Aldridge in the overall standings, after he finished down in seventh.

And a place in the top eight, which guarantees qualification for next year’s series, is Cowen’s main target going into the penultimate destination of the year in Brazil, with a top-three finish also on his radar.

He said: “A place in the top eight is in my sights. It is starting to tighten up in their now and I’m really looking to push to get in there before the end of the year.

“Do I think that I can finish on the podium before the end of the year? That’s the plan and I do have dreams about finishing up there because that’s the target for every diver.

“But it’s still my first year on the circuit so anything I achieve is a huge bonus for me and I’m just looking to do the best I can and qualify.”

Another Brit, Gary Hunt took top spot, and the 29-year-old leads the overall standings in search of a fourth World Series title with just two of eight global tour stops to go in Brazil and Thailand.