Franklin Regional grad Samantha Pickens falls short of U.S. Olympic diving berth in 1-meter, will compete in 3-meter Saturday

Associated Press | Friday, June 11, 2021 1:57 p.m.

Samantha Pickens, a Franklin Regional graduate, performs a dive during the women’s 3-meter springboard semifinal at the FINA Diving World Cup in Tokyo, May 3.

INDIANAPOLIS — The U.S. has named its first divers to the Olympic team, with newcomers Krysta Palmer and Alison Gibson earning berths in women’s 3-meter synchronized.

The duo came into the finals with a 21-point lead over second-place Kassidy Cook and Sarah Bacon. Palmer and Gibson consistently hit their dives in the final round, finishing with 899.82 points on Thursday night in Indianapolis. They had a higher degree of difficulty compared to their competitors.

Cook, a 2016 Olympian, and Bacon finished with 871.5 points. Samantha Pickens, a Franklin Regional graduate, and Carolina Sculti took third at 804.18.

Palmer and Gibson recently added a forward 2 1/2 somersault with two twists pike, a dive rarely performed by women individually. The pair is currently the only women’s synchro team to have it in their list.

Palmer, Gibson and Pickens will compete Saturday in individual 3-meter springboard.

The men’s 3-meter and women’s 10-meter synchro finals are Friday night.