Former Gophers diver Sarah Bacon qualifies for two events in Paris Olympics

Bacon will compete in the three-meter springboard and the synchronized three-meter.

Former Gophers diver Sarah Bacon. / Gopher Athletics

Former Gophers diver Sarah Bacon will be competing in a pair of events in the Paris Olympics. 

Bacon, 27, qualified for the 2024 Olympics in the women’s three-meter springboard Saturday night, posting 639.00 points to finish first in the Olympic trials in Knoxville, Tenn.

Bacon had already qualified for Paris in the synchronized three-meter when she and Kassidy Cook scored 629.92 points for a first-place finish in the Olympic trials on Monday. 

Another former Gopher, Kristen Hayden, finished fourth in the three-meter in the Olympic trials. Alison Gibson was the other qualifier in the three-meter, scoring 635.10 in a second-place finish.

It was a neck-and-neck finish in the three-meter springboard Saturday night with just 7.55 points separating first place from third entering the final round. While Bacon led by 23.55 points after Thursday’s semifinals, a couple missed dives tightened the gap down the final stretch. 

But Bacon came through with the highest score of any diver in the final, scoring 72 points. 

“I was able to pull through on my last two, which I’m really happy about,” Bacon told USA Diving. “I got myself together, hit my last two dives and was able to qualify for my second event. It feels great. I’m excited to get back to training a little more before Paris and get ready to roll.” 

Bacon attended the U from 2016-22 and put together an incredibly impressive resume as a four-time Big Ten champion, a five-time NCAA champion and a 10-time All-American. She was the Big Ten Female Athlete of the Year in 2021, just the fourth women in U history to garner the honor. 

Bacon was the Women’s Big Ten Diver of the Year in 2019 and 2021 and holds Gophers and Big Ten records in the one-meter and three-meter, along with the NCAA record in the one-meter.