University of Minnesota Athletics
Players Mentioned
Diving
/ Women's Swimming & Diving
Sprint Freestyle
/ Men's Swimming & Diving
Diving
/ Men's Swimming & Diving
Freestyle/Backstroke/IM
/ Men's Swimming & Diving
Freestyle
/ Women's Swimming & Diving
Breaststroke/IM
/ Women's Swimming & Diving
Breaststroke/Freestyle
/ Men's Swimming & Diving
Backstroke/Butterfly/Freestyle
/ Women's Swimming & Diving
Preview: Gopher Divers Preparing for Upcoming Olympic Trials
6/4/2021 12:45:00 PM | Men's Swimming & Diving, Women's Swimming & Diving
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
As attendance at live events has begun to open more, USA Diving has confirmed a spectator capacity of 700 for the event. Tickets to the event are available through TicketMaster and can be purchased through the link located at the top of the page.
WHEN/WHERE TO TUNE IN
With limited capacity allowed in the venue, the entirety of the championships will be streamed through NBC Olympics channels, specifically NBCOlympics.com, Olympic Channel and NBC. Links to each day's coverage along with the dates and start times (CT) of the respective Gopher events can be found below.
2021 U.S. Olympic Diving Trials (Indianapolis, Ind.)
Sunday, June 6: 10 a.m. // Women's Synchro 3m Prelims
Sunday, June 6: 6 p.m. // Women's Synchro 3m Semis
Tuesday, June 8: 9 a.m. // Women's Individual 3m Prelims
Tuesday, June 8: 6 p.m. // Women's Individual 3m Semis (Olympic Channel)
Wednesday, June 9: 9 a.m. // Men's Individual 3m Prelims
Wednesday, June 9: 6 p.m. // Men's Individual 3m Semis (Olympic Channel)
Thursday, June 10: 6 p.m. // Women's Synchro 3m Finals (Olympic Channel)
Saturday, June 12: 3 p.m. // Women's Individual 3m Finals (NBC)
Sunday, June 13: 6 p.m. // Men's Individual 3m Finals (NBC)
MAROON & GOLD QUALIFIERS
Two Gophers have secured their entry to the Olympic qualifying event, those being Indianapolis, Ind. native Sarah Bacon (individual 3m, synchro 3m [synch. Cook]) and Seal Beach, Calif. native Jake Butler (individual 3m). Bacon will be competing in the second Olympic trial of her career, while Butler will be making his debut at this level. At the 2016 U.S. Olympic Diving Trials, Bacon only competed in the individual three-meter springboard event, ultimately registering an 18th place finish during the semifinal round.
"Wenbo and I have both put so much work into this sport over the last year, and to have a chance to represent TeamUSA at the Olympic games would be a dream come true," said Bacon. "I'm going to try and not get ahead of myself quite yet though, and just focus on my performance at trials."
"I'm feeling pretty relaxed going into this meet," said Butler. "I'm more excited than nervous because this is my first time here. I'm going into this meet to dive like I know how to, and that's really my only goal. It would be cool to win as well, but I'm just really proud of myself for accomplishing this goal."
SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
Below is a full breakdown of the dates on which a Minnesota Gopher will be competing at the trials and the respective athletes competing in each event.
Sunday, June 6
Women's Synchro 3m (Prelim/Semis) // Sarah Bacon
Tuesday, June 8
Women's Individual 3m (Prelim/Semis) // Sarah Bacon
Wednesday, June 9
Men's Individual 3m (Prelims/Semis) // Jake Butler
Thursday, June 10
Women's Synchro 3m (Finals) // Sarah Bacon
Saturday, June 12
Women's Individual 3m (Finals) // Sarah Bacon
Sunday, June 13
Men's Individual 3m (Finals) // Jake Butler
BACONATOR, COOKED N' READY
Bacon is coming off one of the most successful collegiate seasons for any Minnesota student-athlete in history. Whether it be winning NCAA titles, receiving multiple counts of national recognition, or claiming yet another international silver medal to add to her award cabinet, there is very little that the four-time NCAA Champion has yet to accomplish. Her path, however, was anything but easy.
The first step in Bacon's journey over the past year started the same as it did for the rest of the Olympic hopeful field, with the postponement of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Prior to the postponement, Bacon had made the decision to step away from the Gophers for the 2019-20 season in order to prepare herself for the upcoming Olympic games, a plan which was unfortunately now out the window.
This left Bacon with what ultimately turned out to be one of the most important decisions she has ever made; she could either come back and join the Gophers for what would be her final collegiate season, or she could take yet another redshirt Olympic season in preparation for what was to come. In the end, Bacon made the decision to rejoin her Maroon and Gold teammates for her final collegiate season.
The season was filled with ups and downs for the 2020-21 team captain, consisting of pool records, COVID-19 team complications, NCAA titles, school history and some very-deserved national recognition.
Once the dust had finally settled on her fourth and final year donning the Maroon and Gold, Bacon had accumulated some truly monumental accomplishments. Just to name a few, they included two NCAA titles (1m, 3m) to become the winningest-woman in Minnesota history with four national titles, being named the first ever Honda Sport Award winner in Minnesota history in any sport and winning both the CSCAA and Big Ten Diver of the Year awards.
Even with all of these successes now belonging to Bacon, the job was nowhere near done for the Indianapolis, Ind. native as the ever-looming Olympic Games were only a few months away. To Bacon, this meant the job had only just begun.
The next step on her path to the trials came across the globe at the 2021 FINA Diving World Cup, which took place in early May in Tokyo, Japan. There, Bacon would represent TeamUSA on the national level in both the individual and synchronized three-meter springboard events with hopes to secure an Olympic quota spot for the U.S. in each.
Along with her synchro partner, 2016 Olympian Kassidy Cook, Bacon was able to do exactly what she needed during the Cup, registering a fifth place finish in the synchro event and a silver medal finish individually to secure both quota spots for her home country. In fact, Bacon even went above and beyond on the individual board, as her silver stands as the U.S.'s first medal in the event since 1989, more than 30 years ago.
With the trials on the horizon, Bacon has done everything in her power up to this point to show how and why she deserves a spot on TeamUSA for the upcoming Olympic games. All that is left now is for her to finish the journey she started just over two years ago.
"I've faced so much adversity this year that at this point, I am really ready for anything that's thrown my way," said Bacon. "I'm used to the setbacks, I'm used to the uneasy feeling of not being ready for a meet, and I'm used to the high pressure competition. I'm more than ready for Olympic trials and I'm ready to really show everyone what I am capable of doing."
BUTLER HOPEFUL FOR GREATNESS
Butler's path to the Olympic trials, though slightly different than most of his competition, was one the Seal Beach, Calif. product needed to have to reach where he is today.
When the 2020 Olympic Trials were originally set to be held last summer, Butler had not yet punched his ticket to the meet. Merely a freshman at the 'U' and with only one year of training under the Gopher's legendary diving coach Wenbo Chen, Butler had just begun growing and competing at the collegiate level. So for Butler, the postponement was more of a blessing than a curse.
In fact, Butler has accomplished a great deal of personal development, growth and achievements in the year since the postponement became official.
Over the past year, Butler has added multiple counts of personal best performances, a top-five finish at the Big Ten Championships, a top-five finish at the Zone D Diving Championships, and his first career trip to the NCAA Championships to his resume. Butler had also originally qualified for the 2020 NCAA Championships as well before they were ultimately canceled.
To Butler, there are a number of reasons he'd credit as to why he's been able to take the steps that he has over the past season, the most prevalent of which being the presence of one of Butler's good friends and a truly elite athlete in Bacon at his side.
"I wasn't originally qualified to the 2020 trials because of a few confidence barriers I had to get through," said Butler, "but having an extra year to grow and learn, especially alongside an elite athlete like Sarah, helped me a ton going into the 2021 season."
The combination of an extra year of maturity and physical growth, along with the guidance of the 2021 CSCAA Diver and Diving Coach of the Year in Bacon and Chen, have all helped get Butler to where he is now: ready. With a head full of confidence, Butler will head into the trials looking to accomplish what a year ago seemed like an almost impossible dream to the sophomore this early in his career.
SWIMMING TRIALS (WAVE II)
Bacon and Butler will not be the only athletes representing the University of Minnesota's swimming and diving program at the 2021 Olympic Trials, as six other former and current Minnesota student-athletes will be competing at the Wave II of the 2021 U.S. Olympic Swimming Trials.
Current Gophers who will be taking part in Wave II of the trials include two-time NCAA Champion Max McHugh (100 breast, 200 breast), freshman phenom Sawyer Grimes (400 free, 800 free, 1500 free) and distance star Abbey Kilgallon (400 free, 1500 free).
The group of former Gophers looks just as intimidating as the current group, consisting of the likes of eight-time All-American and NCAA runner-up Bowen Becker (50 free, 100 free), NCAA runner-up and 11-time All-American Lindsey Kozelsky (100 breast, 200 breast) and nine-time All-American Tevyn Waddell (100 back, 200 back, 100 fly). All three athletes currently hold at least three Minnesota team records (Becker - 7, Waddell - 5, Kozelsky - 3) and were all featured on a roster during the 2020 season of the International Swimming League.
Wave II will kick off on Sunday, June 13 and run until Sunday, June 20, all of which will be taking place at the Chi Health Center in Omaha, Neb. A separate, more in-depth preview of the swimming trials will be released closer to the event.
- Two Gophers will compete at the 2021 U.S. Olympic Diving Trials this upcoming week in Indianapolis, Ind.
- The event will take place from June 6-13 at the Indiana University Natatorium on the campus of IUPUI.
- Social Media: Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
As attendance at live events has begun to open more, USA Diving has confirmed a spectator capacity of 700 for the event. Tickets to the event are available through TicketMaster and can be purchased through the link located at the top of the page.
WHEN/WHERE TO TUNE IN
With limited capacity allowed in the venue, the entirety of the championships will be streamed through NBC Olympics channels, specifically NBCOlympics.com, Olympic Channel and NBC. Links to each day's coverage along with the dates and start times (CT) of the respective Gopher events can be found below.
2021 U.S. Olympic Diving Trials (Indianapolis, Ind.)
Sunday, June 6: 10 a.m. // Women's Synchro 3m Prelims
Sunday, June 6: 6 p.m. // Women's Synchro 3m Semis
Tuesday, June 8: 9 a.m. // Women's Individual 3m Prelims
Tuesday, June 8: 6 p.m. // Women's Individual 3m Semis (Olympic Channel)
Wednesday, June 9: 9 a.m. // Men's Individual 3m Prelims
Wednesday, June 9: 6 p.m. // Men's Individual 3m Semis (Olympic Channel)
Thursday, June 10: 6 p.m. // Women's Synchro 3m Finals (Olympic Channel)
Saturday, June 12: 3 p.m. // Women's Individual 3m Finals (NBC)
Sunday, June 13: 6 p.m. // Men's Individual 3m Finals (NBC)
MAROON & GOLD QUALIFIERS
Two Gophers have secured their entry to the Olympic qualifying event, those being Indianapolis, Ind. native Sarah Bacon (individual 3m, synchro 3m [synch. Cook]) and Seal Beach, Calif. native Jake Butler (individual 3m). Bacon will be competing in the second Olympic trial of her career, while Butler will be making his debut at this level. At the 2016 U.S. Olympic Diving Trials, Bacon only competed in the individual three-meter springboard event, ultimately registering an 18th place finish during the semifinal round.
"Wenbo and I have both put so much work into this sport over the last year, and to have a chance to represent TeamUSA at the Olympic games would be a dream come true," said Bacon. "I'm going to try and not get ahead of myself quite yet though, and just focus on my performance at trials."
"I'm feeling pretty relaxed going into this meet," said Butler. "I'm more excited than nervous because this is my first time here. I'm going into this meet to dive like I know how to, and that's really my only goal. It would be cool to win as well, but I'm just really proud of myself for accomplishing this goal."
SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
Below is a full breakdown of the dates on which a Minnesota Gopher will be competing at the trials and the respective athletes competing in each event.
Sunday, June 6
Women's Synchro 3m (Prelim/Semis) // Sarah Bacon
Tuesday, June 8
Women's Individual 3m (Prelim/Semis) // Sarah Bacon
Wednesday, June 9
Men's Individual 3m (Prelims/Semis) // Jake Butler
Thursday, June 10
Women's Synchro 3m (Finals) // Sarah Bacon
Saturday, June 12
Women's Individual 3m (Finals) // Sarah Bacon
Sunday, June 13
Men's Individual 3m (Finals) // Jake Butler
BACONATOR, COOKED N' READY
Bacon is coming off one of the most successful collegiate seasons for any Minnesota student-athlete in history. Whether it be winning NCAA titles, receiving multiple counts of national recognition, or claiming yet another international silver medal to add to her award cabinet, there is very little that the four-time NCAA Champion has yet to accomplish. Her path, however, was anything but easy.
The first step in Bacon's journey over the past year started the same as it did for the rest of the Olympic hopeful field, with the postponement of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Prior to the postponement, Bacon had made the decision to step away from the Gophers for the 2019-20 season in order to prepare herself for the upcoming Olympic games, a plan which was unfortunately now out the window.
This left Bacon with what ultimately turned out to be one of the most important decisions she has ever made; she could either come back and join the Gophers for what would be her final collegiate season, or she could take yet another redshirt Olympic season in preparation for what was to come. In the end, Bacon made the decision to rejoin her Maroon and Gold teammates for her final collegiate season.
The season was filled with ups and downs for the 2020-21 team captain, consisting of pool records, COVID-19 team complications, NCAA titles, school history and some very-deserved national recognition.
Once the dust had finally settled on her fourth and final year donning the Maroon and Gold, Bacon had accumulated some truly monumental accomplishments. Just to name a few, they included two NCAA titles (1m, 3m) to become the winningest-woman in Minnesota history with four national titles, being named the first ever Honda Sport Award winner in Minnesota history in any sport and winning both the CSCAA and Big Ten Diver of the Year awards.
Even with all of these successes now belonging to Bacon, the job was nowhere near done for the Indianapolis, Ind. native as the ever-looming Olympic Games were only a few months away. To Bacon, this meant the job had only just begun.
The next step on her path to the trials came across the globe at the 2021 FINA Diving World Cup, which took place in early May in Tokyo, Japan. There, Bacon would represent TeamUSA on the national level in both the individual and synchronized three-meter springboard events with hopes to secure an Olympic quota spot for the U.S. in each.
Along with her synchro partner, 2016 Olympian Kassidy Cook, Bacon was able to do exactly what she needed during the Cup, registering a fifth place finish in the synchro event and a silver medal finish individually to secure both quota spots for her home country. In fact, Bacon even went above and beyond on the individual board, as her silver stands as the U.S.'s first medal in the event since 1989, more than 30 years ago.
With the trials on the horizon, Bacon has done everything in her power up to this point to show how and why she deserves a spot on TeamUSA for the upcoming Olympic games. All that is left now is for her to finish the journey she started just over two years ago.
"I've faced so much adversity this year that at this point, I am really ready for anything that's thrown my way," said Bacon. "I'm used to the setbacks, I'm used to the uneasy feeling of not being ready for a meet, and I'm used to the high pressure competition. I'm more than ready for Olympic trials and I'm ready to really show everyone what I am capable of doing."
BUTLER HOPEFUL FOR GREATNESS
Butler's path to the Olympic trials, though slightly different than most of his competition, was one the Seal Beach, Calif. product needed to have to reach where he is today.
When the 2020 Olympic Trials were originally set to be held last summer, Butler had not yet punched his ticket to the meet. Merely a freshman at the 'U' and with only one year of training under the Gopher's legendary diving coach Wenbo Chen, Butler had just begun growing and competing at the collegiate level. So for Butler, the postponement was more of a blessing than a curse.
In fact, Butler has accomplished a great deal of personal development, growth and achievements in the year since the postponement became official.
Over the past year, Butler has added multiple counts of personal best performances, a top-five finish at the Big Ten Championships, a top-five finish at the Zone D Diving Championships, and his first career trip to the NCAA Championships to his resume. Butler had also originally qualified for the 2020 NCAA Championships as well before they were ultimately canceled.
To Butler, there are a number of reasons he'd credit as to why he's been able to take the steps that he has over the past season, the most prevalent of which being the presence of one of Butler's good friends and a truly elite athlete in Bacon at his side.
"I wasn't originally qualified to the 2020 trials because of a few confidence barriers I had to get through," said Butler, "but having an extra year to grow and learn, especially alongside an elite athlete like Sarah, helped me a ton going into the 2021 season."
The combination of an extra year of maturity and physical growth, along with the guidance of the 2021 CSCAA Diver and Diving Coach of the Year in Bacon and Chen, have all helped get Butler to where he is now: ready. With a head full of confidence, Butler will head into the trials looking to accomplish what a year ago seemed like an almost impossible dream to the sophomore this early in his career.
SWIMMING TRIALS (WAVE II)
Bacon and Butler will not be the only athletes representing the University of Minnesota's swimming and diving program at the 2021 Olympic Trials, as six other former and current Minnesota student-athletes will be competing at the Wave II of the 2021 U.S. Olympic Swimming Trials.
Current Gophers who will be taking part in Wave II of the trials include two-time NCAA Champion Max McHugh (100 breast, 200 breast), freshman phenom Sawyer Grimes (400 free, 800 free, 1500 free) and distance star Abbey Kilgallon (400 free, 1500 free).
The group of former Gophers looks just as intimidating as the current group, consisting of the likes of eight-time All-American and NCAA runner-up Bowen Becker (50 free, 100 free), NCAA runner-up and 11-time All-American Lindsey Kozelsky (100 breast, 200 breast) and nine-time All-American Tevyn Waddell (100 back, 200 back, 100 fly). All three athletes currently hold at least three Minnesota team records (Becker - 7, Waddell - 5, Kozelsky - 3) and were all featured on a roster during the 2020 season of the International Swimming League.
Wave II will kick off on Sunday, June 13 and run until Sunday, June 20, all of which will be taking place at the Chi Health Center in Omaha, Neb. A separate, more in-depth preview of the swimming trials will be released closer to the event.
Follow Swim & Dive
Support Swim & Dive
Support the University of Minnesota Swim & Dive program. Your support helps our student-athletes succeed athletically, academically, and socially. It takes just seconds to make a monthly or one-time donation. Thank you for your support! Give Now
Drew Bennett Wins B1G Gold
Tuesday, March 03
Drew Bennett Interview
Sunday, March 01
Drew Bennett Wins B1G Silver
Friday, February 27
Jacob Johnson School Record
Friday, February 27