Friday’s battle to capture the last women’s diving medal at the Paris 2024 Olympics, should be an interesting showdown between the two-time world champion, Chen Yiwen, 25, and her teammate, Chang Yani, 22, the reigning world champ.

Last year, Chen was elected to be a representative for Zhongshan at the Guangdong Provincial People's Congress in the People's Republic of China. Chang, meanwhile, is a physical education student at the Huazhong University of Science and Technology. Together, in Paris, they won gold in the 3m synchro event last Saturday. Both started diving when they were 8 years old.

In Thursday’s semifinal, however, Chang’s consistency faltered early and she only ranked fourth among the 12 women who qualified for Friday’s final after her opening dive went south, an inward 2½. Chang also placed fourth in Wednesday’s prelims, but that time, her second and hardest dive gave her problems, a forward 3½ .

If Chang doesn’t fix her errors in the final, that leaves room for another nation (or two) to make the podium:

Image Source: Diving bronze medallists for Women's 3m Synchronised Maddison Keeney of Australia attends a press conference at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games at the Main Press Centre in Barra Olympic Park. (Matt Hazlett/Getty Images)

Keep an eye on Australia’s Maddison Keeney, 28, who was second to Chen both days and – most notably – will be pushing the difficulty level. The most difficult dive among the other finalists will top out at 3.1, but Keeney is planning a forward 2½ with two twists in pike position, which has a 3.4 DD. She typically uses it as her last dive, so if the battle for silver or bronze is tight and she nails it, the risk would reap substantial reward. Keeney’s last Olympics was in Rio, in 2016, where she placed fifth individually on 3m. She didn’t make the 2020 Tokyo team, following shoulder and knee surgery.

Other contenders who have a real shot at a medal will likely come from Italy and Mexico.

The women’s 3m final will begin Friday at 15:00 Paris time at the Aquatics Centre.