Abby Johnston and Nick McCrory have qualified for the 2012 Olympic Games in London, becoming the first Duke divers to ever earn a spot on the United States Olympic team.
Johnston and her diving partner, Kelci Bryant, earned their Olympic bid by placing first in the synchronized 3-meter springboard at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials in Federal Way, Wash. The duo, needing to finish first to qualify, narrowly bested the second-place team of Kassidy Cook and Christina Loukas by an unofficial margin of 0.42 points to earn a trip to London. Holding a slim 6.51-point margin entering the final round, Johnston and Bryant watched as Cook and Loukas matched them dive-for-dive throughout the evening but never were able to seize the lead.
Bryant earned her second trip to the Olympic Games after competing in the 2008 Games in Beijing, where she finished fourth in the synchronized 3-meter springboard.
McCrory and David Boudia took a convincing victory in the men's synchronized 10-meter platform, scoring 1387.86 points and holding a 180.78-point margin over second place. This will be Boudia's second Olympic Games as well.
Johnston will also compete in the finals of the individual 3-meter springboard Saturday. McCrory will compete in the finals of the individual 10-meter platform Saturday as well.
UPDATE (1:16 a.m.): Johnston will not compete in Saturday's final due to shoulder inflammation, according to The Herald-Sun's Stephen Wiseman.
Follow @stevewisemanNC and @DanielHCarp on Twitter.
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