Knapton Earns Trip to Three-Meter Finals at U.S. Olympic Diving Trials

Nebraska’s Abigail Knapton produced a score of 559.30 to finish sixth among 18 divers in the semifinals at the USA Olympic Diving Team Trials at IU Natatorium in Indianapolis on Tuesday.

Knapton, a six-time All-American and two-time Big Ten Champion for the Huskers, was one of 12 divers to advance to Saturday’s final to compete for spots on the Olympic Diving Team. The Omaha Marian High School graduate will compete in the finals live on NBC beginning at 3:50 p.m. (CST) on Saturday.

In the preliminary/quarterfinal session on Tuesday morning, Knapton finished sixth with a score of 271.80 to move onto the evening’s semifinals. Husker teammate Sara Troyer also represented Nebraska in the prelims on Tuesday, finishing 25th (179.10) among the 62 divers who qualified for the U.S. Olympic Trials three-meter competition.

Krysta Palmer, a 28-year-old from Reno, Nevada, headed to the finals with the top overall score through the semifinals (655.15). Palmer and her teammate Alison Gibson will also compete in the finals of the synchronized women’s three-meter board after qualifying with the top score (594.84) through the semifinals.

Hailey Hernandez, an 18-year-old from Southlake, Texas, took second in the semifinals and advanced to the three-meter final with a score of 593.90, after leading the competition through the preliminary and quarterfinal rounds. University of Texas diver Alison Gibson (591.45), Minnesota’s Kristen Hayden (568.95), Minnesota’s Sarah Bacon (568.00) and Knapton rounded out the top six, giving the Big Ten Conference three of the top six divers in the finals.

Knapton will be back in action at the U.S. Olympic Diving Team Trials on Wednesday for the start of preliminary round competition on the platform at 12:30 p.m. (CST). The platform semifinals will be televised live on the Olympic Channel on Wednesday at 8 p.m. (CST).