Courtesy: USA Diving
GOLD COAST, Australia – Led by two medal winning performances by Krysta Palmer (Carson City, Nev./Reno, Nev.), Team USA won two medals on the final day of competition at the FINA Gold Coast Grand Prix in Australia. Palmer finished third in the women’s 3-meter contest, and also won silver with teammate Lauren Reedy (Rochester Hills, Mich./Columbia, Mo.) in the women’s 3-meter synchro event. In all, Team USA collected four medals in Australia.
In the women’s 3-meter final, Palmer scored 296.75 points Saturday to take home the bronze medal, finishing 10.00 points behind China’s Huang Xiaohui, who won the gold. The Nevada native dove a front 2 ½ somersaults with 2 twists for 68.00 points and followed up with a front 3 ½ pike for 65.10 points. Australia’s Alysha Koloi placed second with 300.30 points, just 3.55 points ahead of Palmer.
Reedy joined Palmer in the women’s 3-meter synchro, where the pair earned the silver medal for Team USA after scoring 252.90 points, just 10.80 points shy of Australia’s gold medalists Ether Qin and Georgia Sheehan. The pair’s strongest dive came in the third round for the Americans when a front 2 ½ somersaults with 2 twists scored 56.10 points. Germany’s Lena Hentschel and Tina Punzel finished competition at third with 229.80 points.
Team USA completed the Gold Coast Grand Prix with two silver medals from David Boudia (Noblesville, Ind./West Lafayette, Ind.) in the men’s 3-meter and Palmer and Reedy in the women’s 3-meter synchro. The Americans also collected two bronze medals from Katrina Young (Shoreline, Wash./Tallahassee, Fla.) in the women’s 10-meter and Palmer in the women’s 3-meter. Their Australian Grand Prix concludes with a total of four medals.