Smart, Colturi and Carpenter qualify for World Championships with Top 10 Performances in Abu Dhabi
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by USA Diving
2021 FINA High Diver of the Year Ellie Smart and teammates Mellie Carpenter and David Couturi earned their spots to compete at the 2022 FINA High Diving World Championships this upcoming May while competing in the 2021 Abu Dhabi Aquatics festival. This event served as the final qualifying event for the 19th FINA World Championships, scheduled to take place in Fukuoka, Japan.
Carpenter and Smart, who placed sixth and eighth respectively, each completed four dives in the feet-first competition off of the 20-Meter platform into the Persian Gulf. The two will represent Team USA alongside Genevive Bradley who earned her berth to Japan with her fourth-place finish at the 2019 World Championships. Bradley placed 13th in Abu Dhabi.
Colturi placed seventh in the Men’s 27-Meter competition which earned him his ticket to Japan alongside 2017 High Diving World Champion Steve LoBue who earned his spot with his Silver Medal performance in the 2019 World Championships and Andy Jones who placed 6th at the 2019 World Championships. Although LoBue had already earned his trip to the 2022 World Championships, his ninth-place finish in Abu Dhabi would have also qualified him. Jones rounded out the trio of U.S. Men’s High Divers in 14th place less than 11 points outside of the top 10 in the heavily contested event.
The Abu Dhabi Aquatics festival also included a Mixed Team event which consisted of alternating dives from the 3-Meter Springboard and 10-Meter platform, also diving outdoors into the Persian Gulf. The three-person team of Olympic Silver Medalist, Krysta Palmer, 2021 NCAA Silver Medalist Benjamin Bramley and World Championships High Dive Silver Medalist, Ginger Huber, competed both individually and in pairs with Palmer on springboard, Huber on platform and Bramley competing in both. After the six rounds of dives, the trio ended the day in 10th place.
To watch replays and for full results of the High Dive competition, visit: https://www.fina.org/competitions/2746/fina-high-diving-qualifier-2021/results
To watch replays and for full results of the mixed team event, visit: https://www.fina.org/competitions/2747/fina-diving-team-exhibition
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