Kimiko Soldati Claims Olympic Slot
June 25, 2004
Kimiko Soldati bounced back from a poor dive during the U.S. trials on June 12 in St. Peters, Missouri to win 3-meter springboard and a slot on the women’s team.
At 30, Soldati is the oldest diver at the trials, but she didn’t start diving seriously until a dozen years ago and overcame numerous injuries to claim her first spot on the Olympic team.
Her second dive was ugly — Soldati over-rotated on an inward pike 2 1/2 somersault, creating a huge splash as she sliced through the water. The crowd groaned and the scores confirmed their assessment — 4s and 4.5s that dropped her into second place behind Rachelle Kunkel.
“I missed that dive, but I was OK with it,” said Soldati, a Colorado native who now lives in Texas. “I thought about it for about 30 seconds. That’s it. Then it was time to move on.”
Soldati, who passed time between dives listening to the Usher song “Yeah!” on her headphones, bounced right back. Her last three dives were on the mark, closing with a reverse pike 2 1/2 somersault that clinched it.
Soldati finished with 884.70 points, while Kunkel became a first-time Olympian with 874.38.
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