The USA Diving Olympic Team Trials, originally scheduled for June 14-21, 2020, have been moved to June 6-13, 2021 as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak. The trials will be held at the Indiana University Natatorium on the campus of IUPUI, in Indianapolis.
This event will determine which divers will compete in the Tokyo Games, where the diving events are now scheduled for July 23-August 3, 2021.
This will be the 7th Olympic Trials event the IU Natatorium has hosted. Previous years include: 1984, 1988, 1992, 1996, 2008, and 2016.
Some of the male springboard divers expected to attend the trials are 10th place finisher and silver-medalist in the Rio Olympics, Micheal Hixon, David Boudia, four-time Olympic Medalist, and 20-year-old Andrew Copabianco, an NCAA champion from Indiana.
On the women’s side, Kassidy Cook, a World Cup team member, Sarah Beacon, the first woman last year to win an individual or world medal since 2005, and Brooke Shultz, two-time world championship team qualifier and third place finisher at the 2019 Winter Nationals.
Additionally, all three Rio Olympians Jessica Parratto,10th place finisher, Katrina Young, bronze medalist at the World Championships, and Amy Cozad Magaña, 7th place finisher, will be competing in the trials on the women’s platform.
The American men won 3 medals at the 2016 Olympic Games, with David Boudia taking individual bronze on platform. He partnered with Steele Johnson to win silver on the synchronized platform, while Michael Hixon and Sam Dorman combined for silver on the 3-meter synchronized platform.
The American women didn’t earn any medals, with their best place being 7th in the women’s 3 meter synchronized springboard event.
There are a total of 136 quota spots available to divers globally, divided between men and women. Each nation is allowed to enter 16 divers, who must all be 14 years of age to compete.
Under original qualification guidelines, the top twelve individual divers from the 2019 World Championships, the 5 continental champions, and the 18 semifinalists in the 2020 Diving World Cup will earn a quota spot in each event. That 2020 FINA Diving World Cup has been rescheduled for February 23-28 2021 in Tokyo, Japan.
The top three synchro divers from the World Championships as well as the top four from the World Cup also qualify. The remaining quota places go to the next best finishers from the World Cup, until all the quota spots are filled.
There is a maximum of 2 divers per country in each event (including one pair, of two divers, per country, in synchro events).
The United States currently holds qualifications in the women’s 10 meter synchro, as well as the maximum 2 entries in the men’s 3-meter, men’s platform, and women’s platform events.
The US will head to Tokyo in February looking for qualifications in the other 3 synchro events, as well as in the individual women’s 3-meter.