Kassidy Cook and Sarah Bacon — the diving pair nicknamed "Cook N Bacon" — secured Team USA's first Olympic medal at the Paris 2024 Games on Saturday, claiming silver in the women's synchronized 3-meter springboard event at the Aquatics Centre.
The American duo posted a total of 314.64 points across five dives to finish second. China's three-time world champions Chang Yani and Chen Yiwen dominated the event with 337.68 points to claim gold, while Great Britain's Yasmin Harper and Scarlett Mew Jensen rounded out the podium with 302.28 for bronze.
Cook N Bacon's Path to Paris
Cook, 29, of The Woodlands, Texas, and Bacon, 27, of Indianapolis have been friends since childhood and began competing as a synchronized pair in 2019. The road to Paris was not straightforward: the duo narrowly missed qualifying for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and had to rebuild from that disappointment.
Their individual dive scores tell the story of a consistent, podium-worthy performance: 49.80, 51.00, 71.010, 72.54, and 70.20 — a total that kept them ahead of all other challengers except China's reigning world champions.
History Made by Kassidy Cook
Cook cemented her place in Olympic history by becoming the first female diver to compete in non-consecutive Olympic Games. She previously competed at the Rio 2016 Olympics, meaning an eight-year gap separated her two appearances.
"I'm the first female diver to attend non-consecutive Olympic Games," Cook said. "Knowing that my grit and my determination ended up working out means everything in the world to me."
Bacon on Resilience and the Silver Medal
For Bacon, the Paris 2024 silver medal carries deep personal meaning. She had hoped to represent Team USA in Tokyo in 2021, only to miss out on qualification.
"I was hoping to make the Olympic team in Tokyo; that didn't happen," Bacon said. "Having my best friend here at this Olympic Games, and then also walking away with the silver medal — I have no words to describe any of this."
Bacon credited her support system for keeping her focused after the Tokyo setback. Her boyfriend Nick Jaworski, a former Mississippi State University kicker, encouraged her to keep pursuing her Olympic dream.
"My boyfriend said, 'No, you're going to go back. You're going to dive, and we're going to make your dream happen,'" Bacon said.
What Comes Next
The silver medal is not the end of Bacon's Paris 2024 story. She also qualified individually for the 3-meter springboard event, with her individual preliminary round scheduled for August 7.
Cook, who competed only in the synchronized event, stayed on to support her teammates for the remainder of the Games — a fitting end to a career-defining moment that put Team USA on the scoreboard on day two of Paris 2024.
