SAINT-DENIS, France – Kassidy Cook and Sarah Bacon won silver in the women’s 3-meter synchronized springboard event on Saturday, securing America’s first medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Your five-dive score of 314.64 put Americans on the podium in this event for the first time since 2012, with Bacon and Cook sandwiched between the gold medal-winning duo of Chang Yani and Chen Yiwen (337.68) of China and bronze medalists Yasmin Harper and Scarlett Mew Jensen (302.28) from Great Britain.
For the duo, nicknamed Cook N’ Bacon, familiarity and friendship were fundamental ingredients for the winning recipe, according to the divers who have been friends since they were children and have been diving in pairs since 2019.
“I mean, I’m ecstatic. I’m overwhelmed with so many emotions right now,” Cook told reporters. “You know, being able to go out there and perform (and) put together a solid roster and end up on that podium with one of my best friends is amazing.”
Cook, 29, who lives outside Houston, competed in Rio in 2016, becoming the first U.S. diver to compete in non-consecutive games.
“And then we found out that we are Team USA’s first metal, which is an even more amazing feeling,” Cook said.
This event has been held seven times in the history of the Olympics and a pair from China won six of these competitions, only failing to reach the podium in 2000.
Bacon, who narrowly missed out on the U.S. diving team in Tokyo, said the disappointment turned into a blessing.
“Yeah, I mean, we ended up not making the Olympic team in 2020 and my plan was to retire after the Olympics,” said Bacon, a 27-year-old Indianapolis native.
“I was exhausted and ready to be done. So not making the Olympic team kept me in diving and brought me to the Olympic Games with Kassidy. To be on the awards stand with the silver medal is just unbelievable. I have no words to say describe it right now.”
Reigning world champions Chang and Chen led side by side, but Bacon and Cook said fighting to keep up with the powerful Chinese duo helped them secure silver.
“Obviously, we were behind the great China team, so they were putting a lot of pressure on us,” Cook said. “But watching them do their dives made us excited to do our dives. I think they made us better and I’m very happy to get this silver.”
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