Krysta Palmer of the United States' pose for a photo after winning bronze medal in women's diving 3m springboard final at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre at the 2020 Summer Olympics, Sunday, Aug. 1, 2021, in Tokyo, Japan.
AP Photo / Dimitri Lovetsky
Krysta Palmer couldn't stop smiling Sunday during the 2020 Tokyo Olympics 3-meter women's diving competition.She had every reason to beam from ear to ear, making history and earning a bronze medal in the process. Palmer became the first American woman to medal in the event since the 1988 Seoul Summer Olympics when Kelly McCormick won bronze.
It was Palmer's third round dive that leaped her directly into medal contention.
Palmer did a reverse 2 1/2 somersaults with a degree of difficulty of 3.0, registering scores of 8.0, 8.0 and 8.5.
"That was extraordinary," said Cynthia Potter during the broadcast, following Palmer's third round dive of a 73.5.
It was the dive that put the pressure on as the Northern Nevada native put the clamps down on her podium result in the final two rounds.
Palmer showed some nerves in the individual event in the early rounds, but poise took over during Sunday's final.
She put the clamps on with her historic-making dive – the double-out – in the final round, scoring a 73.1
The 3.4 degree of difficulty was attempted by only two other divers in the competition and had not been done by an American diver in Olympic competition ever before.
Chinese diver Shi Tingmao went on to win the gold. Tingmao had not lost in any 3m individual diving competitions since 2015, per the NBC Olympic broadcast.
"What a big moment for USA diving," concluded Potter at the end of the broadcast.
It's been a long and injury-ridden road for Palmer, who didn't start diving until she was 20 years of age.
She wraps up her Olympic experience at 29 with a final score of 343.75 and will return to Northern Nevada with a bronze medal around her neck from the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics.
Palmer's final round dives
First round – 67.50
Second round – 63
Third round – 73.50
Fourth round – 66.65
Fifth round – 73.1
Final standings
Gold – Shi Tingmao, China, 383.50
Silver – Wang Han, China, 348.75
Bronze – Krysta Palmer, USA, 343.75
Photos courtesy AP / Dmitri Lovetsky