Team USA?
In diving, might as well be Team Indiana.
Indiana University’s Carson Tyler and Indianapolis diver Sarah Bacon secured spots Saturday in the U.S. Olympic Trials at Knoxville, Tenn.
IU has now placed a diver into every Olympic Games since 1964.
Of nine U.S. divers making it to the Paris Olympics so far, six have Indiana connections.
Only Tyler secured a place in 10-meter platform, although the United States could be awarded a second spot.
Tyler, 20, of Moultrie, Ga., finished with 965.45 points, combining scores from Thursday’s semifinal and Saturday’s final. His highest-scoring dive – a back 3 ½ somersault tuck in the fifth round – earned 9.5s from three judges and 90.75 points.
More: After years of setbacks and adversity, Indy diver Sarah Bacon finally gets Olympic spot
Former Purdue diver Brandon Loschiavo, a 2021 Olympian from Huntington Beach, Calif., was second with 892.30 points.
Third and fourth were Josh Hedberg, 17, of Noblesville, 856.70, and Tyler Wills, 18, of Carmel, 850.30.
Bacon, 27, twice a state champion for Cardinal Ritter, won a three-way duel on 3-meter springboard with a score of 639.00. Alison Gibson was second with 635.10, Krystal Palmer third with 629.25. Former IU diver Kristen Hayden was fourth with 594.
Bacon had made the team Monday in synchronized 3-meter.
Tyler competes again, trying to make the team Sunday in 3-meter. Through semifinals, he was second to former IU diver Andrew Capobianco but with a 55-point lead over third place.
Tyler could become the third American diver since 1976 to qualify for the Olympics in both individual events, joining Greg Louganis (1976, 1984, 1988) and Mark Ruiz (2000).
The IU diver is coming off a college season in which won NCAA and Big Ten titles on 3-meter and 10-meter, plus medals on 1-meter. His 56 points at NCAAs outscored every other diving team.
Bacon said she would have quit diving three years ago but was disappointed to barely miss the Tokyo team. She was third on 3-meter in the 2021 trials at Indianapolis.
Bacon and Cassidy Cook were fourth in synchro 3-meter at last year’s World Championships, less than one point from a bronze medal. Bacon, a five-time NCAA champion at Minnesota, owns two world medals on 1-meter, which is not an Olympic event.
Contact IndyStar correspondent David Woods at dwoods1411@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter: @DavidWoods007.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: US Diving Olympic Trials: IU diver Carson Tyler wins 10-meter platform
