Courtesy: USA Diving
SAGAMIHARA, Japan – Team USA has arrived in Sagamihara, where all seven divers will compete at the Sagamihara Green Pool for the 2019 FINA Diving World Series – Sagamihara, which begins Friday, March 1 (local time) and concludes Sunday, March 3 (local time).
What to Watch For
Tarrin Gilliland (Midland, Texas) and Katrina Young (Shoreline, Wash./Tallahassee, Fla.) – The women’s platform synchro pair are the only members on the Stars and Stripes bringing World Series experience to the team. They previously competed together in the 2018 World Series meets held in Beijing, China and Fuji, Japan, where they placed sixth and seventh, respectively. With previous World Series experience as synchro partners, the pair will look to use last year’s competitions to help them prepare for this week’s events.
Krysta Palmer (Carson City, Nev./Reno, Nev.) – The Nevada native is the only American competing in an individual event, as she will contend in the women’s 3-meter in her first World Series competition. Palmer clinched her first individual international medal at the FINA Gold Coast Grand Prix last November, after placing third in the women’s 3-meter event.
Maria Coburn (Austin, Texas) and Palmer – The pair will represent the Red, White and Blue in the women’s 3-meter synchro event this week. The pair last competed together in the women’s 3-meter synchro at the 2017 FINA Australia Grand Prix, where they clinched gold medals. Coburn and Palmer will look to have similar success in this week’s competition.
Tyler Downs (Ballwin, Mo.) and Jordan Rzepka (Solon, Ohio) – In their second international event as platform synchro partners, Downs and Rzepka will compete together in the pair’s first senior international event following a gold medal winning performance at the 2018 USA Diving Winter Trials. The men’s platform duo also represented Team USA last summer at the FINA World Junior Diving Championships in Kiev, Ukraine, where the pair placed within the top-10, at ninth overall.
Mark Anderson (Lake Forest, Calif./Austin, Texas) and Downs- Anderson and Downs will contend in the men’s 3-meter synchro, marking their first time partnering together. In addition to their first competition together as a pair, both divers will record their first international men’s 3-meter synchro event.
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***Be sure to note that Sagamihara is 14 hours ahead of Eastern Standard Time