Courtesy: USA Diving
BOLZANO, Italy —Team USA completed competition at the Bolzano FINA Grand Prix Sunday with one gold medal, one silver medal and four bronze medals, to end the weekend with eight total medals. Greg Duncan (Oakton, Va.) and Alison Gibson (Austin, Texas) clinched the gold medal in the mixed 3-meter synchro, while Jacob Cornish (Honolulu, Hawaii/Austin, Texas) took home the silver medal in the men’s 10-meter platform final to wrap up Team USA’s competition in Italy. Olivia Rosendahl (Los Angeles, Calif/Evanston, Ill.) and Katrina Young (Shoreline, Wash./Tallahasse, Fla.) placed third in the women’s 10-meter synchro, while Grayson Campbell (Vienna, Va./Austin, Texas) and Duncan also clinched third in the men’s 3-meter synchro. Team USA also found success in the mixed platform synchro, as Zachary Cooper (Greenwood, Ind./Miami, Fla.) and Amy Cozad Magaña (Indianapolis, Ind.) also brought home the bronze medal. Brooke Schultz (Fayetteville, Ark.) scored the bronze medal in the women’s 3-meter final.
Rosendahl and Young began their competition for 243.78 points at fifth place following a reverse ½ pike for 42.00 points. The pair jumped up to second in the second round on a back half pike, which scored for 44.40 points, before slipping to third in the next round on an inward 3 ½ tuck for 50.88 points. Despite sliding down to fifth place in the fourth round on a missed front 3 ½ pike, the pair climbed back up to third in the final on a back 2 ½ somersaults with 1 ½ twists for 62.40 points.
In the men’s 3-meter synchro, Campbell and Duncan’s 371.52 point performance started at seventh when a back ½ pike landed the pair 46.20 points. The Virginia natives inched up to share a spot at sixth with Italy’s Lorenzo Marsaglia and Tommaso Rinaldi in the second round before slipping down to eighth in the following round. The duo’s reverse 2 ½ pike in the fourth round moved the pair back to sixth. They then performed their strongest dive, a reverse 1 ½ somersaults with 3 ½ twists for 74.55 points, in the fifth round to allow the pair to jump up to third place. They finished the final round with a front 2 ½ somersaults with 2 twists for 70.38 points to hold their spot at third place, 1.50 points ahead of Germany’s Patrick Hausding and Lars Ruediger for the bronze medal. China’s Peng Jianfeng and Liu Chengming clinched the gold medal, while Mexico’s Yahel Castillo and Juan Celaya led Campbell and Duncan for the silver medal by 4.68 points.
Cooper and Magaña’s performance to land Team USA the bronze medal in the mixed platform synchro finished with 262.35 points. The pair began the finals at third after performing an inward ½ pike for 46.80 points before sliding to fifth in the following round due to a missed reverse ½ pike for 39.60 points. The duo moved up to fourth in the following round and advanced to third in the fourth round after their most successful dive, a back 3 ½ tuck scored 62.37 points. Cooper and Magaña held onto third place in the final round, just 17.25 points behind Great Britain’s Gemma McArthur and Lucas Thomson. Italy’s Noemi Batki and Maicol Verzotto placed first with 281.46 points.
The women’s 3-meter finals saw action for Team USA as Schultz placed third to earn the bronze medal with 283.60 points, while Gibson finished sixth with 214.15 points. Schultz began competition at fifth place following a front 2 ½ somersaults with 1 twist landed her 49.50 points, where she held the spot for the following two rounds. In the fourth round Schultz moved up to third place with her most successful dive of the day, a back 2 ½ pike for 67.50 points, where she was able to hold onto the spot in the final round to clinch the bronze. Gibson began the finals at fourth place before slipping to fifth in the second round and then to sixth in the third round, where she lasted the rest of competition. China’s Huang Xiaohui placed second with 323.25 points, while China’s Chen Yiwen finished first with 341.50 points.
Cornish scored Team USA’s second silver medal of the weekend in the men’s 10-meter platform after scoring 389.80 points. Cornish began finals strong, starting off at second with a back armstand with 2 somersaults and 1 ½ twists for 70.40 points, where he held the spot for the rest of the afternoon. Cornish’s strongest dive came in the second round where he dove a front 3 ½ pike for 75.00 points. The diver finished the day 51.50 points behind China’s Tai Xiaohu, who clinched the gold medal. Italy’s Mattia Placidi finished third with 354.75 points.
The final competition of the Bolzano FINA Grand Prix was the mixed 3-meter synchro, where Greg Duncan and Alison Gibson clinched the gold medal with 279.27 points. The pair, who started the finals at second place, moved up to first place in the second round where they held on to the spot for the rest of competition. The pair’s strongest dive came in the third round on a front 3 ½ pike for 64.17 points. Italy’s Elena Bertocchi and Maicol Verzotto placed second, 9.72 points.
Team USA finished the Bolzano FINA Grand Prix with eight medals: one gold medal, two silver medals and six bronze medals. The team will travel to Madrid, Spain where they will compete July 13-15 in the Madrid FINA Grand Prix.
