INDIANAPOLIS – Purdue's USA Diving and NCAA champion Brandon Loschiavo has the lead and is in a commanding position to qualify for the Olympic Games through the semifinal round of the 10-meter competition at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials.
The top two divers after Saturday's 7:35 p.m. ET final earn the right to represent Team USA in Tokyo. Scores are cumulative through the three lists of competition. Loschiavo will enter Saturday's action with 128.9-point lead on third place.
Loschiavo was an elite and consistent performer Tuesday through the afternoon preliminary (486.35) and evening semifinal (470.25), finishing the day with a two-list total of 956.60. He leads the competition by 50 points. His list score in the prelim was his best since the 2019 NCAA Zone C Championships (487.45). The 2021 NCAA champion had an average round score of 81 in the prelim and 78 in the final, capping his remarkable performance with a big score of 94.35 on his forward 4 ½. He also reached 90 points on his final dive of the prelim.
"I was fairly happy with this morning; I thought I was a little tighter when it came to [my] armstand and back twist," Loschiavo said. "Tonight was a little bit harder because you had such a long downtime. I think it's a good learning experience for later meets, it was a little bit harder, but I keep focusing on staying tight and focus on my ques. I was pretty happy with everything."
Incoming Boilermakers Jordan Rzepka (801.05, 5th) and Tyler Downs (764.85, 7th) as well as rising senior Ben Bramley (678.40, 12th) also qualified for Saturday's 10-meter final. Rzepka and Downs are making their debuts at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials this week.
On the women's side, Emily Bretscher finished in 15th place in the 3-meter semifinal. She posted a two-list score of 495.35.
Tuesday also brought some tough news for the Purdue divers. Johnson announced at 2:39 p.m. ET that he was withdrawing from the Olympic Trials due to a chronic foot injury. He competed with Boudia in 3-meter synchro on Monday and was slated to compete individually on 3-meter Wednesday. Johnson was a five-time NCAA champion for the Boilermakers from 2015 to 2018 and represented Team USA in both 10-meter events at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, winning silver with Boudia in synchro.
Rising senior Maggie Merriman and incoming Boilermaker Sophie McAfee make their debuts at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials Wednesday for the women's 10-meter competition. Greg Duncan, Boudia and Downs are all slated to compete in the men's 3-meter.
PURDUE'S SCHEDULE/RESULTS AT U.S. OLYMPIC TEAM TRIALS – DIVING
All Times Eastern; Schedule will be updated as Boilermakers advance
Monday, June 7
• Men's 3-Meter Synchro Prelim at 11 a.m. – Greg Duncan (388.44, 2nd of 5), David Boudia & Steele Johnson (388.11, 3rd)
• Men's 3-Meter Synchro Semifinal at 7 p.m. – Greg Duncan (784.89, 2nd of 5), David Boudia & Steele Johnson (784.26, 3rd)
Tuesday, June 8 (Semifinals Live on Olympic Channel, NBC Sports App)
• Women's 3-Meter Prelim at 10 a.m. – Emily Bretscher (247.65, 14th of 26)
• Men's 10-Meter Prelim at 12:45 p.m. – Brandon Loschiavo (486.35, 1st of 13), Jordan Rzepka (388.30, 6th), Tyler Downs (380.10, 8th), Ben Bramley (331.20, 12th)
• Women's 3-Meter Semifinal at 7 p.m. – Emily Bretscher (495.35, 15th of 18)
• Men's 10-Meter Semifinal at 8:45 p.m. – Brandon Loschiavo (956.60, 1st of 13), Jordan Rzepka (801.05, 5th), Tyler Downs (764.85, 7th), Ben Bramley (678.40, 12th)
Wednesday, June 9 (Semifinals Live on Olympic Channel, NBC Sports App)
• Men's 3-Meter Prelim at 10 a.m. – David Boudia (434.50, 1st of 34), Tyler Downs (423.05, 2nd), Greg Duncan (369.45, 10th), Steele Johnson
• Women's 10-Meter Prelim at 1:30 p.m. – Maggie Merriman (253.30, 11th of 26), Sophie McAfee (253.00, 12th)
• Men's 3-Meter Semifinal at 7 p.m. – David Boudia (889.70, 1st of 18), Tyler Downs (869.90, 4th), Greg Duncan (658.20, 18th)
• Women's 10-Meter Semifinal at 9:05 p.m. – Maggie Merriman (508.35, 12th of 18), Sophie McAfee (463.00, 16th)
Friday, June 11 (Live on NBC Sports Network, NBC Sports App)
• Men's 3-Meter Synchro Final at 7 p.m. – Greg Duncan (1168.80, 2nd of 4), David Boudia & Steele Johnson
Saturday, June 12 (Live on NBC, NBC Sports App)
• Men's 10-Meter Final at 7:35 p.m. -- Brandon Loschiavo (1421, 1st of 12), Tyler Downs (1207.30, 5th), Jordan Rzepka (1127.40, 8th), Ben Bramley (1066, 12th)
Sunday, June 13 (Live on NBC, NBC Sports App)
• Men's 3-Meter Final at 6:35 p.m. – Tyler Downs (1333.75, 1st of 12), David Boudia (1314.95, 3rd)
• Women's 10-Meter Final at 8:50 p.m. – Maggie Merriman (783, 11th of 12)
The top two divers after Saturday's 7:35 p.m. ET final earn the right to represent Team USA in Tokyo. Scores are cumulative through the three lists of competition. Loschiavo will enter Saturday's action with 128.9-point lead on third place.
Loschiavo was an elite and consistent performer Tuesday through the afternoon preliminary (486.35) and evening semifinal (470.25), finishing the day with a two-list total of 956.60. He leads the competition by 50 points. His list score in the prelim was his best since the 2019 NCAA Zone C Championships (487.45). The 2021 NCAA champion had an average round score of 81 in the prelim and 78 in the final, capping his remarkable performance with a big score of 94.35 on his forward 4 ½. He also reached 90 points on his final dive of the prelim.
For context, entering the 10-meter final at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials five years ago, Purdue alum and 2012 Olympic gold medalist David Boudia had a 45-point lead on fellow Boilermaker Steele Johnson in second place and a 53-point edge on David Dinsmore in third place. Dinsmore is in third place again this year.PERFECTION.
— #TokyoOlympics (@NBCOlympics) June 9, 2021
Brandon Loschiavo wins the men's 10m platform semifinal by over 50 points.@USADiving | #DivingTrials21 x #TokyoOlympics pic.twitter.com/OVOYUB3dg1
"I was fairly happy with this morning; I thought I was a little tighter when it came to [my] armstand and back twist," Loschiavo said. "Tonight was a little bit harder because you had such a long downtime. I think it's a good learning experience for later meets, it was a little bit harder, but I keep focusing on staying tight and focus on my ques. I was pretty happy with everything."
Incoming Boilermakers Jordan Rzepka (801.05, 5th) and Tyler Downs (764.85, 7th) as well as rising senior Ben Bramley (678.40, 12th) also qualified for Saturday's 10-meter final. Rzepka and Downs are making their debuts at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials this week.
On the women's side, Emily Bretscher finished in 15th place in the 3-meter semifinal. She posted a two-list score of 495.35.
Tuesday also brought some tough news for the Purdue divers. Johnson announced at 2:39 p.m. ET that he was withdrawing from the Olympic Trials due to a chronic foot injury. He competed with Boudia in 3-meter synchro on Monday and was slated to compete individually on 3-meter Wednesday. Johnson was a five-time NCAA champion for the Boilermakers from 2015 to 2018 and represented Team USA in both 10-meter events at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, winning silver with Boudia in synchro.
— Steele Johnson (@Steele_Johnson) June 9, 2021Boudia and Johnson were in third place in the 3-meter synchro competition, which concludes Friday evening.
Rising senior Maggie Merriman and incoming Boilermaker Sophie McAfee make their debuts at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials Wednesday for the women's 10-meter competition. Greg Duncan, Boudia and Downs are all slated to compete in the men's 3-meter.
PURDUE'S SCHEDULE/RESULTS AT U.S. OLYMPIC TEAM TRIALS – DIVING
All Times Eastern; Schedule will be updated as Boilermakers advance
Monday, June 7
• Men's 3-Meter Synchro Prelim at 11 a.m. – Greg Duncan (388.44, 2nd of 5), David Boudia & Steele Johnson (388.11, 3rd)
• Men's 3-Meter Synchro Semifinal at 7 p.m. – Greg Duncan (784.89, 2nd of 5), David Boudia & Steele Johnson (784.26, 3rd)
Tuesday, June 8 (Semifinals Live on Olympic Channel, NBC Sports App)
• Women's 3-Meter Prelim at 10 a.m. – Emily Bretscher (247.65, 14th of 26)
• Men's 10-Meter Prelim at 12:45 p.m. – Brandon Loschiavo (486.35, 1st of 13), Jordan Rzepka (388.30, 6th), Tyler Downs (380.10, 8th), Ben Bramley (331.20, 12th)
• Women's 3-Meter Semifinal at 7 p.m. – Emily Bretscher (495.35, 15th of 18)
• Men's 10-Meter Semifinal at 8:45 p.m. – Brandon Loschiavo (956.60, 1st of 13), Jordan Rzepka (801.05, 5th), Tyler Downs (764.85, 7th), Ben Bramley (678.40, 12th)
Wednesday, June 9 (Semifinals Live on Olympic Channel, NBC Sports App)
• Men's 3-Meter Prelim at 10 a.m. – David Boudia (434.50, 1st of 34), Tyler Downs (423.05, 2nd), Greg Duncan (369.45, 10th), Steele Johnson
• Women's 10-Meter Prelim at 1:30 p.m. – Maggie Merriman (253.30, 11th of 26), Sophie McAfee (253.00, 12th)
• Men's 3-Meter Semifinal at 7 p.m. – David Boudia (889.70, 1st of 18), Tyler Downs (869.90, 4th), Greg Duncan (658.20, 18th)
• Women's 10-Meter Semifinal at 9:05 p.m. – Maggie Merriman (508.35, 12th of 18), Sophie McAfee (463.00, 16th)
Friday, June 11 (Live on NBC Sports Network, NBC Sports App)
• Men's 3-Meter Synchro Final at 7 p.m. – Greg Duncan (1168.80, 2nd of 4), David Boudia & Steele Johnson
Saturday, June 12 (Live on NBC, NBC Sports App)
• Men's 10-Meter Final at 7:35 p.m. -- Brandon Loschiavo (1421, 1st of 12), Tyler Downs (1207.30, 5th), Jordan Rzepka (1127.40, 8th), Ben Bramley (1066, 12th)
Sunday, June 13 (Live on NBC, NBC Sports App)
• Men's 3-Meter Final at 6:35 p.m. – Tyler Downs (1333.75, 1st of 12), David Boudia (1314.95, 3rd)
• Women's 10-Meter Final at 8:50 p.m. – Maggie Merriman (783, 11th of 12)
Brandon Loschiavo is all smiles heading into finals. #DivingTrials21 pic.twitter.com/jNlsnObd6W
— Team USA (@TeamUSA) June 9, 2021