USA Olympic Trials storylines to watch: Women’s 3M
Tier 1: Sarah Bacon. This is event 2 of 3 where I would be surprised if the favorite isn’t on the top of the podium. Sarah has it all. With a Classic list of 405B, 205B, 305B, 107B, 5152B she has the dives that are on par with the best in the world. To go with the dives comes the execution. Sarah is very technically beautiful in every single category. For me, the only way she doesn’t run away with it is if she has a few misses. 205B and 305B are tricky for most divers and if you want to call it a weakness, these may be the only dives where she looks human (occasionally). Olympic trials haven’t gone the best in the past but she’s just so incredibly good that its not worth over analyzing. When Sarah dives, she’s the one to beat. At the most recent USA diving national meet, she beat 2nd place by 67.40 points over a 2-list total via divemeets.com. I am excited to see her get her moment; I believe it is coming.
Krysta Palmer. Our Olympic Bronze medalist from Tokyo is still diving well. Her story is incredible. I love how Krysta connects into her 205B and 305B. She has an arm wrap and leg lift into her pike position that is 2nd to none. She also has a mega dive to put the exclamation point on her list with 5154B. Big risk, big reward and she does this dive beautifully. If Krysta is on, which I believe she will be, she may even take the top spot.
Alison Gibson. She came back to diving after retiring post Tokyo where she was synchro partners with Krysta. Safe to say she picked up right where she left off and dare I say better? Call it ignorance but I don’t recall her being this dialed in and this solid in 2020/2021. After sharing her story with us on the podcast (episode 137) she gained a huge fan in me. An Identical list to Krysta with that big dive 5154B she has a very real opportunity to represent the USA in the Olympics.
Tier 2: Hailey Hernandez. I’d be doing a disservice by not having our other individual diver from Tokyo in the top 2 Tiers. Hailey scores points differently than those mentioned above. She does nearly all of her dives in the tuck position and needs those high execution scores to stay near the top. What is fun about this, is she always gets the scores. Hailey has one of the flattest rips I’ve seen. Although the DD may not be there, when she hits dives (which is almost every time) the pool comes alive. One story line I’m curios about is at NCAA championships she competed a 105B and 5132D. For trials she has a list of 107C, and 5152B.
Anne Fowler. The NCAA runner up can rip. She’s so tidy, so clean, so steady. Anne does 405C and 305C the rest are pike position with 205B, 107B, and 5152B. Anne may finish top 3 and make me look like a fool. I hope it happens; I hope she shows out. Anne is one on this list that truly could move way up and it would not shock me one bit. That flat rip is so powerful and she can absolutely disappear.
Kristen Hayden. Kristen is an incredibly solid diver. She does so many things well. I expect her to be in the mix. She’s fully capable of competing with the upper tier divers on this list just needs to hit and rip.
Kyndal Knight. Kyndal is another diver that does everything well. Her and Kristen are so similar in the fact that their technique is beautiful and they capture my eye. I’d say the thing that separates the divers higher on the list is the rip. Kyndal is more than capable, but just not quite as consistent as the others at disappearing with no splash. Kyndal also has a fantastic story (episode 119) and I’m a huge fan.
Other Notables:
Sohpie Verzyl. If you like big dives Sophie is your girl. She has a 5154B entered and although not currently on the list she’s also done 307C in competition. I’d love to see it, I doubt we will with the amount of risk in that dive if the hurdle goes wrong. I’m excited to see the power from Sophie.
Samantha Pickens. She’s still got it. It’s no secret Sam has been diving for a while, but she’s also diving at an incredibly high level. Always. I suspect Sam will be in the mix. I have a soft spot in my heart for Sam, I’ll be cheering for her to exceed expectations. Hear her story on Episode 26.
Margo O'Meara. After a year off due to injury Margo is back and ready for the highest level. Similar to Anne Fowler she has potential to really make me look foolish having her so low on this list. When she hits and rips it’s insane. Looking forward to seeing what she will do at trials. Hear her story on Episode 157.
Joslyn Oakely. Joslyn has been lurking. She exploded onto the scene in 2022/23, 2023/24 has shown good form but I just have a feeling something big is about to happen for her. She does everything well in the same vein as Kristen Hayden and Kyndal Knight. If everything comes together it could be special. Hear her story on Episode 110.
Samantha Vear. Sammy is an incredibly strong diver. We had a great episode 135 with her and got to hear her story. She's worth keeping an eye on and can hang with the best!
Looking ahead to the Olympics I think any of the tier 1 divers can final and elevate for a podium spot. Sarah has been around the top 3 in the world at various international meets. At that level if she hits all 5 dives anything can happen. I do think Chen Yiwen from China is the one to beat but call it my USA pride I think we have a chance. Between Krysta Palmer and Alison Gibson you can plug them in and I can say the same thing as I did for Sarah. Any 2 combinations of these 3 I will be ecstatic at our chances for a podium. Krysta proved USA can do it in Tokyo. I think this Women’s 3m event has the most depth at the top of any others in these trials. The kind of depth that translates well at the Olympics.
Written and submitted by Aaron Rooney