Divers Jessica Parratto and Delaney Schnell Reflect on Being in the Moment of Competing in Paris

PARIS — Divers Jessica Parratto and Delaney Schnell notched a sixth-place finish with a score of 287.52 in the women’s synchronized 10-meter platform final at the Olympic Games Paris 2024 on Wednesday. Chen Yuxi and Quan Hangchan of China won the gold with a score of 359.10, ahead of Jo Jin Mi and Kim Mi Rae of North Korea and Andrea Spendolini Sirieix and Lois Toulson of Great Britain. 

In a field with almost identical difficulty values, it was a battle of the best combination of execution and synchronization. The importance of high scores in both left little room for error in each round of dives. Schnell and Parratto had some early struggles the first couple of rounds, receiving lower scores than what was needed to start on the top half of the leaderboard. 

“It's all about the entry on those first two dives,” said Schnell. “Because you’re falling straight to your head, you're really just trying to get as clean of an entry as possible. It’s those little, tiny pieces of timing that can really just change the score completely.”

The duo gained some more momentum in the later rounds, maintaining their execution and synchronization scores as their difficulty increased. After sitting in eighth place after the first two dives, they inched their way into seventh after dives three and four before using their fifth and final dive to climb to the sixth.

“We’re confident in what our abilities are,” said Parratto. “We knew, and we still know, we could do what everyone on the podium just did. Diving is so different every day. Sometimes it's us, sometimes it’s not.”

Schnell and Parratto made history after a silver medal performance at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, where they became the first American women to ever make the Olympic podium in the event. Since 2021, they have secured a bronze medal at the 2023 World Aquatics Championships and a top-eight finish at the 2024 World Aquatics Championships. 

This could possibly be the last time the two compete together on the Olympic stage. While neither have officially announced their plans to retire after the Games, Parratto is the oldest diver for Team USA at 30, and Schnell is finishing up her master’s degree in clinical speech-language pathology. 

“It's been a really special three years,” said Parratto. “Nothing takes away from what we've been able to accomplish. Our Olympic silver medal from last time around and our world medal from last summer. There are so many great takeaways. It could have been anyone up on that podium today. Unfortunately, today, it wasn't us. But again, we're really happy and proud of each other.”

Unlike Tokyo, fans filled the stands of the Aquatics Centre during competition, including family and friends of both U.S. divers. Looking ahead, Schnell is back on the platform next week for the individual 10-meter competition. While Parratto’s time competing in Paris is over, she plans to make the most of her third Olympic experience.

“Now I cheer for her in stands,” Parratto said of Schnell. “I’m just enjoying the moment right now, being with friends and family and supporting our team. I’m going to watch other sports, gymnastics, track and field, swimming, fencing. I have a bunch.”

Hanna Barton is writing for Team USA as a graduate student in the Sports Capital Journalism Program at Indiana University Indianapolis.