KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Diver Krysta Palmer will soon get her shot at earning a spot on Team USA in the Olympics, and this is not the first time.
Just like every other child, Palmer had a dream. She worked her whole life to get where she's at right now.
"This would be my third time attempting to qualify for an Olympic Games," Palmer said. "I was a little kid watching TV, and I remember saying to my dad, 'I want to go the Olympics one day.'"
She began working toward her dream early on. Throughout her career, she encountered some injuries. But instead of letting those injuries hold her back, her life took a different turn.
"I did gymnastics, first for seven years, and then I did trampoline for another eight years," Palmer said. "I didn't start diving until I was 20 years old."
Being a diver was a whole new game.
Amy Kwan, head referee of the Olympic diving trials in Knoxville and chair for the USA Diving Judges Commission, said the pressure is high for everyone.
"We have to put our score in in three seconds," Kwan said. "We look at the starting position. We look at the approach, the takeoff, the flights, and the entry, and then we look, we put it, we look at the overall impression."
Palmer is training nonstop while she waits to compete at UT.
She said it's like a ritual and finding the right mindset before every dive.
This little gymnast scored a bronze medal at the 2020 Olympics and she's now getting ready to compete on Saturday, June 22, among the finalists.
"I want to be really as focused and dialed in as I can be," Palmer said. "The beauty of diving is really, you know, the effortless, you know, somersaulting and twisting that we do in the air. It's doing really hard things, but making it look easy."
