LI's Andrew Capobianco qualifies for Paris Olympics with win in individual 3-meter springboard at U.S. diving trials
Andrew Capobianco celebrates after competing in the Men's 3M Finals during the U.S. Olympic Diving Team Trials at Allan Jones Intercollegiate Aquatic Center on Sunday in Knoxville, Tenn. Credit: Getty Images/Alex Slitz
There was one last trip upward off the diving board and then downward into the University of Tennessee pool. Andrew Capobianco already had clinched his ticket to Paris, but this was to try to clinch first place.
The 24-year-old Wantagh native did his forward 4 1/2-somersault tuck. It turned out like so many of his attempts in the individual 3-meter springboard event at the U.S. Olympic trials in Knoxville — high difficulty dive, high score.
His father, Mike, rose in the stands before the score even came down and let out a “Wow!”
Capobianco won on Sunday to make his second Olympics.
The 2021 silver medalist in the 3-meter synchronized competition at the Tokyo Games had come back from Tuesday’s disappointment over not making it again in that event. His 93.10 final dive gave him 971.80 points and the victory in the finals by 26.05 points over Carson Tyler, Capobianco’s former Indiana teammate, who also qualified because this event sends the top two.
“I don’t really have words to describe it,” Capobianco said during a joint interview with Tyler on the NBC telecast. “I was just trying to be in the moment, not try to get ahead of myself too much.”
After Friday’s semifinals, Capobianco was the leader, ahead by 21.65 points over Tyler and by 77.15 points over third-place Luke Sitz. So Capobianco, who finished 10th individually in Tokyo, was in great shape to place in the top two in the finals.
Andrew Capobianco competes in the Men's 3M Finals during the U.S. Olympic Diving Team Trials at Allan Jones Intercollegiate Aquatic Center on Sunday in Knoxville, Tenn. Credit: Getty Images/Alex Slitz
But he then put first place in jeopardy with a tough dive that went bad, his fourth out of six, a back 31/2 somersault that brought just 32.40 points and sheared a 47.70 advantage over Tyler to a mere 2.10.
Capobianco followed by earning 93.60 points on a forward 21/2-somersault three-twist pike — with a high 3.9 degree of difficulty — on the next dive to go up by 16.95. And he nearly earned the same high mark on his final dive.
“I think I maybe got a little ahead of myself on that back, which I’m kind of [ticked off] about,” Capobianco said of that fourth dive. “But other than that, I think that was a great list [of dives]. Really great to battle it out with [Tyler]. So proud of him.”
Tyler will be busy in Paris. The 20-year-old Georgia native also qualified by winning the 10-meter platform event Saturday. He became the first American man since 2000 to make one Olympics in both events.
“I guess I surprised myself today and this week,” Tyler said.
In 2021, Capobianco finished second in the individual 3-meter springboard at the trials. He also teamed to finish first with Michael Hixon in the 3-meter synchronized event. Hixon retired after their medal-winning effort at Tokyo.
Quinn Henninger became Capobianco’s synchro partner. But they finished second Tuesday by just 2.37 points. Only the winning pair advances in that event.
So Capobianco, who was a two-time Nassau County champ as a seventh- and eighth-grader competing for Wantagh High before moving to North Carolina, will be spending a lot of time with Tyler in the coming weeks.
“It’s great that we get to be together there [in Paris] and also train leading up to that together,” Capobianco said. “So I’m just excited for the process with him.”