2024-07-28 02:35:01
PARIS – Kassidy Cook and Sarah Bacon have won the first medal for Team USA at the Olympic Games Paris 2024. The diving duo known popularly as “Cook’N Bacon” took home silver in the women’s synchronized 3-meter springboard final Saturday at the Aquatics Center.
The diving pair earned a total of 314.64 for silver, while three-time world champions Chang Yani and Chen Yiwen of China scored 337.68 to take home the gold medal. Yasmin Harper and Scarlett Mew Jensen of Great Britan rounded out the podium with 302.28 for bronze.
Cook, 29, and Bacon, 27, won their first medal together as synchro partners after narrowly failing to qualify for the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, just three years ago.
“I feel like it’s been a really long journey coming,” said Bacon when asked about missing out on Tokyo. “I was hoping to make the Olympic team in (2021 for Tokyo); that didn’t happen. So being able to make the Olympic team this time, and then also being able to do it in synchro with my best friend here at this Olympic Games, and then also walking away with the silver medal means I have no words to describe any of this.”
The duo deciding to stick together through a period of injuries, mental struggles and more culminated to a silver-medal finish on the Olympic stage.
Cook also became the first-ever women’s diver to compete in non-consecutive Games, having last competed at the Games at the Olympic Games Rio 2016.
“I think that my journey is an uncommon one,” said Cook in response to her eight-year hiatus from the Games. “I’m the first female diver to attend non-consecutive Olympic Games. And in between those two, I’ve been through a lot personally. … So knowing that my grit and my determination ended up working out means everything in the world to me.”
Bacon added onto Cook’s response stating her overall mentality was attributed to her family and boyfriend, Nick Jaworski, a former kicker of Mississippi State University.
“It’s been hard mentally,” the Indianapolis native said. “I remember having a conversation with my boyfriend before I decided to go for this Olympics. I just asked him, ‘Is it all worth it? What happens if I come back and end up not making the Olympic team.’ … And he looked me in the eyes and said, ‘No, you’re going to go back. You’re going to dive, and we’re going to make your dream happen.’ So happy that he talked me through that and pushed me to come back.”
