Tokyo Olympics: Divers Delaney Schnell, Jessica Parratto Look to Make History

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American divers Delaney Schnell and Jessica Parratto will look to do something Tuesday that no tandem has been able to accomplish: defeat China for a gold medal in the women’s synchronized 10-meter platform event.

Since the event was officially added to the Olympic program for the 2000 Sydney Games, China has been dominant, securing gold in all five Olympics since then.

This time around, the American squad, both of whom have connections to the Midwest, will look to change that while giving the U.S. its first ever medal in the competition.

Schnell, born in Iron Mountain, Michigan, competes at the collegiate level for the University of Arizona. She has picked up a pair of medals at the international level, including a bronze in the synchronized diving event at the 2019 Pan-American Games in Lima and in the 10-meter platform at the 2019 world championships.

She will be joined by Parratto, who will be competing in her second Olympics. Originally from Dover, New Hampshire, Parratto attended Indiana University, and made her Olympic debut in Rio de Janeiro in 2016. In that event, she and her partner Amy Cozad took seventh place in the synchronized diving event.

She also finished in 10th place in the 10-meter platform competition.

The duo will face a tough road to a medal, having to compete against seven other teams. In the event, each pair of divers performs five dives. Each dive must be from a different category, including forward, back, reverse, inward, twisting and armstand, according to the Olympics’ website.

A panel of 11 judges scores the dives, with five focusing on synchronization between the divers. Each diver is then judged by three different officials.

Since the sport became a medal event in the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, China has won every competition. This year, Chen Yuxi and Zhang Jiaqi will look to continue that dominance.

The competition will get underway at 1 a.m. Central time.

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