Olympics: Jessica Parratto, Delaney Schnell Capture Silver for U.S. in 10-Meter Synchro Diving<\/strong><\/p>\n

Jessica Parratto<\/strong> waited until the fifth and final dive Tuesday afternoon before she started looking around.<\/p>\n

She knew that she and fellow American Delaney Schnell<\/strong> had put themselves in a strong position in the women\u2019s 10-meter synchronized diving final at the Tokyo Olympics. She knew they would get stronger as the competition went on and the pair got deeper into their arsenal of three optional dives.<\/p>\n

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Team USA’s Jessica Parratto and Delaney Schnell in the women’s 10-meter synchro Tuesday; Photo Courtesy: Robert Hanashiro-USA TODAY Sports<\/p><\/div>\n
But it wasn\u2019t until the final hit, when Parratto and Schnell nailed their back two-and-a-half with one-and-a-half twists that Parratto, the veteran of the pair, started to see medals in her eyes.<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t know until pretty much the last dive,\u201d Parratto said. \u201cJust absolutely insane. I feel like this event is always so close, so there\u2019s always that team that\u2019s kind of fighting to get almost a bronze. That\u2019s kind of what my mindset was. But to come away with a silver is just mind-blowing, honestly. It just goes to show that if you stay focused and you\u2019re confident, anything can happen.\u201d<\/p>\n
There was \u2013 no surprise \u2013 no catching the Chinese duo of Chen Yuxi<\/strong> and Zhang Jiaqi.<\/strong> But Parratto and Schnell brought home silver, their score of 310.80 clearly ahead of the field to secure the first ever American medal in the event.<\/p>\n
Chen and Zhang ran away with gold with 363.78 points, a cushion of more than 50 points. They delivered the highest-scoring dive of each round and led wire to wire.<\/p>\n
Parratto and Schnell rallied after supplying the seventh-best (out of eight) dive in each of the compulsory rounds. Sitting sixth after two dives, they moved quickly up the ranks. It was punctuated by a 78.72 on the fifth and final attempt, the highest score of any non-Chinese team on the day.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor me, it was just taking it one dive at a time,\u201d said Schnell, a first-time Olympian at age 22<\/a>. \u201cEvery dive counts so if you miss there\u2019s still four more dives, so you can\u2019t let one dive get you down.\u201d<\/p>\n
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So proud of these two for making HISTORY as the first ever medalists in the Women\u2019s 10 Meter Synchro! Congratulations @jessicaparratto<\/a> and Delaney, we hope you can hear the cheers and congratulations from back in the U.S. all the way across the ocean! #Tokyo2020<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/QHYLSyAodz<\/a><\/p>\n
\u2014 USA Diving (@USADiving) July 27, 2021<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n