Meet Sarah Bacon and Kassidy Cook, the pair that gave USA its first medal at Paris Olympics 2024

By Neelabhra Roy

Modified Jul 27, 2024 10:47 GMT

Sarah Bacon and Kassidy Cook are the first American medalists at Paris Olympics 2024. The pair won silver in the women's synchronized 3m springboard diving event, finishing behind China's Chang Yani and Chen Yiwen.

Bacon and Cook secured 49.8 points in the first round, which was a back dive, and it put them in third position. The second round, the reverse dive, was the American duo's best as they secured 51 points, which was more than any team in the event. They got 71.1 points in the inward 2-and-a-half somersaults, followed by a 72,54 in the forward 3-and-half-somersaults, finishing third in both rounds.

The fifth and final round, which involved two-and-a-half forward somersaults and a twist, saw Sarah Bacon and Kassidy Cook fetch 70.2 points, thus keeping their total at 314.64, considerably ahead of the bronze medal-winning pair of Yasmin Harper and Scarlett Mew Jensen.

However, the Chinese duo of Chang Yani and Chen Yiwen were way too good on the day, as they finished with 337.68 points, thus securing the gold medal. Nonetheless, Bacon and Cook gave the United States their first medal at the Paris Olympics.

Bacon, 27, who currently studies at the University of Minnesota, will also compete at the 3m springboard event. This was the only competition in Paris for 29-year-old Kassidy Cook, who attended Stanford University. She previously competed in the 3m springboard event at the 2016 Olympics in Rio but was unable to qualify for the final after finishing 13th in the semifinals.

Sarah Bacon and Kassidy Cook the first two divers to seal their spot at the Paris Olympics, as they won the synchronized 3m springboard event after securing a score of 629.82 points.

“We faced a lot of obstacles over the last couple of months together, years honestly. Injuries and all that kind of stuff, so just coming through all of that and making my first Olympic team and her second Olympic team, I don’t have any words right now for it," Bacon said after she and Cook qualified for Paris 2024 (as per USA Diving).

Sarah Bacon and Kassidy Cook previously won bronze at the 2023 World Aquatics Diving World Cup

Bacon and Cook at the World Aquatics Diving World Cup 2023 (Source: Getty)

Bacon and Cook teamed up for the Diving World Cup in Berlin, and they ended up winning the bronze medal after securing a total score of 284.52. The pair finished behind Canada's Mia Vallee and Pamela Ware, and China's Yani and Chen Yiwen.

Additionally, Sarah Bacon also has two silvers at the World Aquatics Championships, both in the 1m springboard. The first of these came in 2019, when the tournament was held in Gwangju, finishing behind Chen Yiwen.

Her second silve came three years later, when the World Aquatics Championships were held in Budapest. This time, she finished behind another Chinese in Li Yajie.