Tucson HS, UA alum Schnell, partner Parratto come up short in quest for another diving medal in Paris

Heading into the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, the belief for duo Delaney Schnell of Tucson and diving partner Jessica Parratto of New Hampshire was that they’d have a good shot at repeating their success from the Tokyo Games, where they brought home a silver medal in the women’s synchronized 10-meter platform.

Instead, the duo had a slow start and finished sixth, scoring 287.52 on their five dives, just less than 17 points off the medal stand.

China’s Chen Yuxi and Quan Hongchan (359.10) took gold after leading by 14 points after their first two dives. Chen also won gold in Tokyo but with a different partner, Zhang Jiaqi. This was China’s 50th overall Olympic diving medal and they have won every gold since this event was introduced in the 2000 Olympics.

Meanwhile, North Korea picked up its’ first Olympic diving medal as Jo Jin Mi and Kim Mi Rae scored 315.90. Great Britain’s Andrea Spendolini-Sirieix and Lois Toulson took bronze with a score of 304.38.

The entry into the water on first two dives for the Team USA pair weren’t technically on point. However, on the last three dives they performed with much better execution and the difficulty value increased — the two things that are scored. It just wasn’t quite enough to find their way into medal contention.

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Schnell, a Tucson High School and Arizona graduate, and her partner Parratto, who attended Indiana, were the first American women to medal in this event in 2021. At the 2023 World Aquatics Championships they took bronze and had a top-eight finish at the 2024 World Aquatics Championships.

This is in addition to what Schnell accomplished as a Wildcat including a being a three-time Pac-12 Diver of the Year, Pac-12 champion, Pac-12 Freshman Diver of the Year, as well as a platform national champion.

Schell’s Olympics, which she’s said are most likely her last, aren’t over just yet. Monday at 1 a.m. Tucson time, Schnell competes in the preliminary round of the individual 10-meter event. It will be streamed on Peacock and at NBCOlympics.com.