Former Gophers diver Sarah Bacon comes up short of Olympic spot

For a few minutes Saturday, Sarah Bacon sat in second place at the U.S. Olympic diving trials, hoping to hang on and earn a berth at the Tokyo Games. But the former Gophers diver was surpassed by Hailey Hernandez, who slipped past Bacon to claim second place and the final U.S. spot for Tokyo in women's 3-meter individual diving.

Bacon ended the trials one place shy of the Olympic team in both of her events, finishing third in individual 3-meter and second in women's synchronized 3-meter with partner Kassidy Cook. The four-time NCAA champion made it a dramatic finish Saturday in Indianapolis, but she could not gain enough ground, falling 14.45 points short of the top-two finish that would have sent her to the Olympics.

Krysta Palmer won her second event of the trials, dusting the field with a total score of 1,011.95. Hernandez was second with 926.55, and Bacon was third with 912.10. Palmer won the synchronized 3-meter event with Alison Gibson, who finished fifth in the individual competition.

Bacon started the finals in fifth place, 25.90 points out of second. Her average final-round score of 68.82 was the second-best of any diver Saturday, but it was not enough to close the gap.

With Cook cheering her on — dressed in a bacon costume — Bacon remained in fifth place after completing four of five dives. On her final dive, a forward 2 ½ somersault with one twist in pike position, she scored 72.00 to move into second place.

Another former Gopher, Kristen Hayden, and Gibson were within striking distance but could not catch her. Hernandez, who began the finals in second place, needed 53.05 points to regain it. Performing the same final dive as Bacon, she scored 67.50 to claim the Olympic berth.