Johnston Advances to 3M Final at U.S. Olympic Trials

INDIANAPOLIS – Duke University graduate Abby Johnston kept her Olympic dream alive Tuesday, securing a spot in Sunday's 3-meter springboard final at the 2016 U.S. Olympic Diving Trials, held at the IU Natatorium.

Johnston finished second in the semifinal field of 18, with the top 12 divers moving on to Sunday's final, which will be broadcast at 4:50 p.m. on NBC.

A former NCAA champion on the 3-meter board, Johnston opened Tuesday evening's semifinals with 60.00 points on a back 2 ½ somersault, which dropped her down to fourth place. After scoring less than 40 points on her reverse 2.5 somersault in preliminaries, Johnston rebounded to earn an award of 72.00 on the same dive in the semifinals – marking her highest-scoring dive of the day. She moved back into second place in the following round, and topped the 70-point mark again in the fourth round on an inward 2 ½ somersault that received a score of 70.50 from the judges.

The Blue Devil standout then concluded her list with 60.00 points on her forward 2 ½ somersault with one twist to bring her cumulative total to 626.55 points. Johnston sits just over 34 points behind Kassidy Cook, who paces the field with 660.85 points entering Sunday's final.

Johnston was second in Tuesday morning's preliminary round, completing her list with a total score of 303.60 points. She kicked off preliminaries with an award of 67.50 on a back 2 ½ somersault and topped the 60-point mark in the third and fourth rounds before closing things out with a forward 2 ½ somersault with one twist that earned 70.50 points from the judges. The top 18 finishers advanced to the semifinals.

Joining Johnston in the preliminaries was rising sophomore Mackenzie Willborn, who came in 21st in her Olympic Trials debut. A native of Flower Mound, Texas, Willborn totaled 221.00 points after rounding out her list with her highest-scoring dive of the day, a reverse 2 ½ somersault that netted an award of 50.40.

The trials competition features cumulative scores through preliminaries, semifinals and finals. The top finisher in the women's 3-meter event will be named to the U.S. Olympic Team.

Johnston previously represented the United States at the 2012 London Games, pairing with Kelci Bryant to take home a silver medal in women's synchronized 3-meter diving. Since graduating from Duke in 2013, Johnston has returned to campus to pursue a medical degree from the university while training under the direction of Duke head diving coach Nunzio Esposto for the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio.

Johnston Feature in Raleigh News & Observer:

Women's 3-Meter Semifinals
2. Abby Johnston (626.55)

Women's 3-Meter Preliminaries
6. Abby Johnston (303.60)
21. Mackenzie Willborn (221.00)

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