Tarrin Gilliland (Liberty City, Texas) finished second in semifinal A of the women’s 10-meter competition on Saturday at the FINA Grand Prix in Madrid, Spain, to advance to the final. Fellow American Johanna Holloway (Boynton Beach, Fla.) took fifth in semifinal A, missing the final.
Both divers competed in semifinal A as Grand Prix competition rules puts the top 12 divers from the preliminaries into one of two semifinals, with the top three divers from each semifinal earning a spot in the final.
Gilliland came out blazing in the semifinal with a forward 3½ somersault pike worth 67.50. She then followed up with 72.00 points on an armstand back 2 somersault 1½ twist free in round two. Gilliland went on to post scores of 55.10 (back 2½ somersault pike), 51.20 (inward 3½ somersault tuck) and 64.00 (back 2½ somersault 1½ twist pike). China’s Minjie Zhang took the top spot in semifinal A with 326.00.
Holloway took fifth overall in semifinal A with 155.05 points. She opened her semifinal with her highest-scoring dive, 49.50, on a forward 3½ somersault pike. Holloway then only manufactured one dive worth 30.00 or points throughout the rest of the semifinal, posting 33.60 on a reverse 2½ somersault tuck.
Gilliland will join Zhang, China’s Jiaqi Zhang, Canada’s Celina Toth, Canada’s Olivia Chamandy and Dutch diver Celine Van Duijn in the final on Sunday.
Gilliland put up the highest mark of the two Americans in the preliminary with a score of 242.80 for eighth overall. She opened competition with a score of 52.50 on a forward 3½ somersault pike, but could not muster another dive over 50.00 points until her final dive of the preliminary, scoring 68.80 on a back 2½ somersault 1½ twist pike.
Holloway crafted 202.80 in the preliminary, finishing in 10th place. Holloway’s best dive came in round two when she scored 60.80 on an inward 3½ somersault tuck. The Grand Prix is Holloway’s first of her senior career and her most recent international meet since competing at the FINA 2016 World Junior Diving Championships this past November in Kazan, Russia.
Jiaqi Zhang scored 424.40 in the preliminary for the top spot, followed by compatriot Zhang at 385.95. Chamandy tallied 323.35 for third.
The FINA Grand Prix in Madrid continues through Sunday.
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