Individual diving at the Paris Olympics continues on Wednesday with the start of the women’s 3m springboard event. Here’s a look at how the competition works, schedule for all three rounds, and names to know ahead of Wednesday’s preliminary round.
How does the competition work?
Each individual diving competition will consist of three rounds. The prelims will feature 34 divers, with the top 18 moving on to the semifinals. From there, the top 12 will compete in the finals. Those tied for 18th or 12th will also move on. Scores do not carry over from round to round.
In the event of a tie among the top three at the end of the finals, multiple medals will be awarded.
In springboard competition, each diver will perform a dive from five different categories: forward, backward, reverse, inward, and twisting.
SEE MORE: Long road leads to Olympic silver for U.S. divers Sarah Bacon, Kassidy Cook: ‘Surreal’
How are they scored?
Divers are judged on starting position, approach, take-off, flight, and entry into water. Each dive is given a degree of difficulty before it is performed, but divers are judged regardless of how difficult the dive is. After each dive, seven judges give their score, with the two highest and two lowest discarded. The remaining scores are added, multiplied by the degree of difficulty, and boom. That’s how you get the score.
Schedule
Preliminary round – Wednesday at 9 a.m.
Semifinals – Thursday at 4 a.m.
Finals – Friday at 9 a.m.
SEE MORE: How to watch diving at the Paris Olympics: TV and stream schedule
Fun facts
– China has dominated most all of the Olympic diving competitions for the last few decades, but it may dominate women’s springboard the most. A Chinese diver has won nine straight gold medals in the event, besting the U.S.’s record of eight straight golds from 1920-1956.
– Since 1988, China has also won first and second in the event six times, including the last three Olympics.
– Since China took over the diving dynasty in women’s springboard, the U.S. hasn’t medaled in women’s springboard since 1976.
SEE MORE: Fun facts about all 10 U.S. Olympic divers
Who is competing?
- Chen Yiwen and Chang Yani (China) – If those names are familiar, it’s because both Chen and Chang won the first gold medal of the Paris Games in the synchro springboard event last week. They’ll now compete individually in the springboard in both of their Olympic debuts. The two have finished 1-2 at each of the last three world championships. Chen, 25, won worlds in this event in 2023 and 2022, and Chang, 22, won the most recent world title.
- Sarah Bacon (USA) – Speaking of the synchro springboard finals, Bacon won the silver medal in that event with diving partner Kassidy Cook. Bacon, making her Olympic debut, beat Chang at a world cup event earlier this year, and finished fifth at this year’s world championships, besting her 11th place finish from a year ago.
- Alison Gibson (USA) – Gibson is competing in her second Olympics. The 25-year-old finished eighth in the synchro springboard in Tokyo three years ago. She hasn’t competed in any recent world championships because she retired from diving in 2022, but was convinced to get back into training last year by her synchro partner Krysta Palmer.
- Kim Su-Ji (South Korea) – Competing in her third Olympics, Kim comes to Paris following a third place finish at the 2024 world championships.
- Maddison Keeney (Australia) – Keeney is a strong medal contender after coming to Paris following a fourth place finish at worlds this year. She’s finished in the top four at all three diving world cup events this year. The 28-year-old is competing in her second Olympics. In the 2016 Games, she won a bronze medal in the synchro springboard and finished fifth in the individual event.
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