The Greek duo were lying fourth going into the springboard final round when leaders Bo Peng and Kenan Wang from China failed to execute their final dive properly and the judges declared a no-dive, awarding no points.

American duo Justin and Troy Dumais, second after the penultimate fourth round, also failed to shine and the Greeks pulled off an excellent dive to move ahead of Australians Robert Newberry and Steven Barnett who ended up third.

A good final effort from Andreas Wels and Tobias Schellenberg of Germany gave them the silver.

The crowd at the indoor pool erupted and the home divers danced around the pool to traditional Greek music played over the public address system after their shock win. The divers and their coach ended up in the pool during the celebrations.

The gold was particularly welcome news for Greeks depressed by a protracted scandal surrounding their top two sprinters who missed doping tests.

"The crowd helped. That was our 'doping'," Siranidis said.

"I hope the stadium is always full now when there are diving events."