Here’s a look at what the first Paris Olympic diving medallists had to say on Saturday after the women’s 3m synchro event, as well as Australia’s Maddison Keeney and Anabelle Smith who were poised to earn a medal until their final dive dropped them to fifth place.
PARIS – Comments from the newsmakers in the women’s 3m synchronized springboard event at the Aquatics Centre on Saturday
Chen Yiwen (CHN) - gold
"We didn't put too much pressure on our shoulders. There is some stress but we identified the difficulties upstream. Most important is to keep working together and keep encouraging each other."
Chang Yani (CHN) - Gold
"The support that we received is very important. So is the training. Our coaches, they give us lots of advice."
Sarah Bacon (USA) – Silver
“We’ve known each other since we were like 10 years old, always going one-two at nationals, always hanging out. I went to her house to watch the Opening Ceremonies in 2008. We had a connection since we were young and it has just transferred into our synchro. We’re best friends and we enjoy doing it together.”
Kassidy Cook (USA) - Silver
“We were really consistent. We were able to dive the way we train. To be able to walk away with a silver medal is freaking awesome. Injuries, heartbreak, coming so close to reaching our goals but falling short has only made this moment sweeter. To be able to share it together means everything in the world. We have a special connection in the pool and outside of the pool and that has been a major component of how successful we are as a synchro team."
Yasmin Harper (GBR) – Bronze
“Scarlett’s had a little bit of a back injury a couple of months ago, so to be able to pull ourselves together today, and to deliver feels amazing. Once we’re into the competition, we have so much trust in each other, we’re not worried what the other person is doing. That gives me a sense of relief.”
Scarlett Mew Jensen (GBR) – Bronze
On watching Australia drop from third place to fifth after a sub-par final dive (a forward 2½ with one twist pike), while Great Britian moved out of fourth place to take the bronze: “I can’t even speak. I was massively in shock. That’s a really easy dive for them. They are very talented. To find joy out of someone else’s failure is really hard, but also, for us, it is really powerful.”
Anabelle Smith (AUS) – Fifth place, missing the podium after a botched final dive
“We’re disappointed. I made a pretty big mistake, when we were in a good position to medal. Sometimes it’s just unlucky. We’ve been doing synchro together for 10 years now, and been through lots of highs and lots of lows together. We are here for each other. We will continue to be. We’re going to reset and go again. We don’t stop.”
Maddison Keeney (AUS) – Fifth Place
“That’s what makes diving so thrilling; literally anything can happen until the last dive. [Anabelle] said ‘sorry’ and I said ‘don’t worry about it’. Time heals all wounds. It’s been an amazing week so far, and the competition has just started so I’m sure we’re going to have some success coming up.”
On China’s gold-medal performance: “They really deserve it. They work hard and they are amazing girls. They’ve got different training. It is quite strict and they’ve got a different lifestyle to us. I’m not surprised they win every year.”