Carson Tyler shines on platform at U.S. Olympic Diving Trials; springboard next

The United States has a new rising star in men’s diving: a confident 20-year-old named Carson Tyler.

Tyler won the men’s 10m platform competition at the 2024 U.S. Olympic Diving Trials to claim the lone guaranteed spot at the Paris Olympics.

The Moultrie, Georgia native led the competition after the semifinal phase, and with scores carrying over to the final, Tyler held off Tokyo Olympian Brandon Loschiavo and 17-year-old diving prodigy Joshua Hedberg to win with a total score of 965.45.

Tyler never trailed after any round in the six-dive final.

His fifth-round dive, a back 3 ½ somersaults tuck, earned three 9.5s and a score of 90.75, the highest-scoring dive of the final. After his final-round dive, he received a standing ovation from the Knoxville, Tennessee crowd.

“I just can’t believe this. I’m, like, blown away,” Tyler said on NBC after clinching his first Olympic team. “That was an amazing competition. I was just so happy with how it went.”

Tyler, a junior at diving powerhouse Indiana University, emerged this year as an NCAA champion not only on the platform (which he also won in 2023), but also on the 3m springboard.

He entered the 2024 Trials in both Olympic events, attempting to become the first American man to compete on platform and springboard at the same Olympics since Mark Ruiz in 2000.

Tyler currently sits second in the 3m springboard competition after the semifinal round, 21.65 points behind leader Andrew Capobianco. The U.S. is guaranteed two Olympic places in that event.

“Just try to stay level-headed,” Tyler said of his mindset ahead of another huge final. “Can’t get too up in the clouds.”

There is still a possibility that the U.S. could be awarded a second Olympic spot in men’s platform when remaining places are allocated. Should that happen, Loschiavo would qualify for a second consecutive Games as the Trials runner-up.