Experience proved critical in the first two rounds of the men’s 3-meter springboard synchronized competition during the U.S. Olympic Team Trials at Federal Way’s Weyerhaeuser King County Aquatic Center.
Three-time Olympian Troy Dumais and partner Kristian Ipsen overcame an early deficit in Monday night’s preliminary round before pulling ahead in the semifinals. The two combined to net a score of 876.00 points entering Friday’s finals.A fifth-place finisher in the 3-meter individual springboard at the 2008 Olympic Team Trials, Ipsen said Monday night’s preliminary round caught he and his 32-year-old teammate off guard. Scores from all three rounds are cumulative.
We had a wake-up call in the preliminaries. The competition was great out there, Ipsen said. It was very nerve-wracking, but weve been training hard and Im happy with our semifinal score.
Reigning national champions in the men’s synchronized 3-meter springboard, Dumais and Ipsen’s most impressive dives came in the fifth round after the tandem executed a reverse 3 1/2-rotation flip to net 90.30 points.
Former Olympian Chris Colwill and partner Drew Livingston sit in second place with 849.33 points after coughing up their lead in the second round of the semifinals. The duo owned a 4.86-point advantage in the preliminaries after notching a 92.40 score on their fifth and final attempts, but lost their lead after failing to replicate their success in the second stage of the Trials.e
Only one team will advance to the 2012 Summer Olympics. Dumais’s brothers, Justin and Dwight, advanced to the finals after placing fourth with 749.82 points. Eight teams advanced to Friday’s final round.