MINNEAPOLIS — Former Gopher Sarah Bacon winning a silver medal the 3-meter synchronized springboard competition has the University of Minnesota Swim & Dive team feeling golden.
“She has worked for that moment, and it was so awesome to see her achieve that,” said the Head Men’s Swimming Coach Mike Joyce.
Joyce didn’t coach Bacon, but he said everyone knows how hard she works. He said when she got to stand on the podium, it was a rewarding moment for the program
“Sarah is relentless,” Joyce said. “When she fell short of her Olympic dream the last time, I think that was really hard. Just witnessing from afar, but the perseverance she’s had she didn’t miss a beat, she trained all the time.”
The 5-time NCAA champion won Team USA's first medal in the 2024 Summer Olympics. The U of M Head Men’s and Women’s Diving Coach Wenbo Chen is in Paris with her as an assistant coach on the U.S. Olympic Diving team. He coached Bacon when she was a student athlete.
“Wenbo Chen and Yu Zhou are some of the best people and coaches to help her kind of guide that process,” Joyce said.
He said the Gophers and the Olympics have a long history.
“We’ve always had representation every Olympics since 1992,” he said. “In the last four, we’ve had a medalist out of our program which is a really amazing accomplishment. I have no idea how many other programs can say that.”
Joyce said Kelci Bryant won a medal in 2012, David Plummer won two medals in 2016, Bowe Becker won a gold medal in 2021, and Bacon won silver in 2024. Chen coached Bryant in 2012.
“I think you can see the sustained success we’ve had,” Joyce said.
He said Bacon’s silver medal will hopefully make people want to dive into the swim and dive program at the University of Minnesota.
“Sarah, you know, she paved the way for the next four years for the Gophers to keep training and see where we can go,” he said. “I think people, recruiting-wise, it will kind of open their eyes and say ‘wow, it can be done in Minnesota, it continues to get done, let’s look in that direction.’”
Joyce said a new facility for divers should help springboard recruitment, offering new ways to train.
“It’s an opportunity to train outside of the pool, so not just in the weight room or the pool. They’ll having diving dry boards where they don’t have to go into the water each rep, they can get more reps in, they can have harnesses attached to their dive so they’re safe,” he said.
Bacon will next compete in the individual 3-meter springboard on Aug. 7.