"Team Cook'N Bacon" was cooking on Saturday.
The U.S. duo of Sarah Bacon and Kassidy Cook were nearly flawless in their five dives of the women's synchronized 3m springboard finals at the Paris Olympics on the way to a silver medal, the first Olympic medal for both divers.
The medal is a long time coming. Bacon, 27, finally made the U.S. Olympic team this year on her fourth trip to the trials. Cook, 29, returned to her second Olympics after finishing 13th in the individual springboard competition at the 2016 Games.
After receiving their medals, both Bacon and Cook spoke with NBC Olympics about their competition, friendship, family, and road to Paris. Here's what they had to say.
NBC Olympics: Congratulations. I'm sure the last couple hours have been a total whirlwind for you.
Bacon: Yeah, letting it all sink in. It hasn't completely sunk in yet, but crazy the last couple hours.
How does it feel to call yourself an Olympic medalist now?
Bacon: I mean, I thought it was crazy to call myself an Olympian to begin with, but now to be an Olympic medalist, I'm still processing everything that's happened in the last two hours. It's just unbelievable.
Cook: It's surreal. It's still kind of setting in, but we've worked our butts off and I knew we were more than capable of getting up on that medal stand. But to actually see that dream come to fruition is just absolutely amazing. It feels like I'm living in a dream.
You're always hoping for the best, but could you have pictured the competition going as well as it did today?
Bacon: I think so. I mean, Kassidy and I, like internationally and in synchro, have been in the medal stand our last couple of meets that we've gone to, so we were hoping to come here, put together a very solid list, and we knew we were capable of medaling. If we just stay consistent throughout that competition we're able to do what we knew we were capable of doing, which was being on that podium.
Having it be a silver medal is just, I have no words for it right now.
You guys are the first US Olympians to medal in Paris. How does that feel?
Bacon: It's still no words for it. We're the first U.S. medal, first medal ceremony of this Olympic Games. I personally think that that's very cool to be the first medal, especially for Team USA. I just hope that everyone can continue to do this and continue those medals coming in.
Can you take me through your morning today, how you slept last night, everything you did to prepare for this morning?
Bacon: So surprisingly we, Kassidy and I, both slept extremely well last night. Even with the Opening Ceremony going on last night that we didn't get to attend because we knew that rest at this point was going to be more important for us leading into our competition today. So we got dressed up, took some Opening Ceremony pictures around the Village with the athletes, but didn't actually attend the ceremony. We were in our dorms around 8 o'clock resting our legs and then went to bed, lights out around 9. Our roommates were amazing and came home very quiet, did not wake either of us up, so we got a very good night of sleep. Woke up around 6:30ish, 6ish, did some recovery stuff for the first 30 minutes when we got up and then ate a good breakfast, then headed to the pool, warmed up, heated.
They kept showing your families and cheering section on the TV broadcast. Were you guys able to hear them at all when you were out there?
Cook: Oh yeah, we heard those USA chants and the “Go Kass,” “Go Sarah,” “Cook’N Bacon.” I think that just brings a smile to my face on the board and helps me feel a little bit, like, OK, no matter what happens my family's still going to love me, and then that makes me feel more comfortable.
Bacon: Yeah, it's like a little piece of home. We're standing up there on that board. The one name that I could hear cheering for us was Kassidy's dad. I don't know why he stuck out, but her dad I could hear, for sure.
Having that family support, not just today but during training leading up to the Olympics, what does that mean to you all?
Cook: They always say it takes a village and it's a cliché, but it's very true. I've made a lot of personal sacrifices, but my family has as well, so this medal is every bit of theirs as it is mine. I grew up with five brothers and sisters, and they're all just so supportive of me no matter where they are at in life. They made the trip out here. Most of my sisters are married and have kids under three years old and they still made this trip out here, so their support truly means everything. Like I said, it takes a village and this is their celebration as well.
Bacon: I also grew up with three brothers, so they were all able to come out here. My little nephew was able to come, all my brother's wives, my mom, my dad, my boyfriend. So just having them here being able to share this moment with me, I could not be happier that they were able to make the trip out here, come out here and cheer for me.
You two have been diving together for a really long time, you've known each other for a really long time. Does that history make this moment more special that you’re able to share it together?
Cook: Definitely. We've known each other since we were 10 and 8 years old, and we've been best friends for a long time. Been diving together for five years, have been through a lot of heartbreak and disappointment as a team. So to be able to kind of climb that path of redemption together and stand up there on the world's biggest stage with one of my best friends and one of the best divers in the world's, it was such an honor.
Neither of you made the Olympic team in 2021 for Tokyo. What made you both want to come back and try to work for Paris?
Bacon: I think that after the last Olympic trials, it did not go as we hoped it would go for us. We knew back then that we were capable of making an Olympic team and then also medaling at the Olympic Games, so I think that heartbreak of not making it the last time around and knowing that we didn't put our best foot out there, knowing that we could still compete at the highest level with the best teams, really pushed us to keep going for this Olympic Games. And we just went out there, relaxed, had fun, and did our thing and were able to get a silver medal.
Cook: I think a combination of unfortunate timing, injuries, COVID, as the whole world went through, we did not reach our full potential in 2020/2021. I did take like a year-and-a-half to two years off after that and was deciding whether or not I wanted to come back and dive, and I just felt like we had some unfinished business, that we didn't get our chance to show the world what we're made of. I don't think I could go on without at least giving it a shot, and I'm so glad we did it because here we are today.
In training over the last couple of years, what has been the biggest focus for you guys heading into these Olympics?
Bacon: Staying healthy, to be honest, because when we're both healthy and we're both feeling good, typically we dive well. So I think the biggest thing for us is just staying healthy, being healthy, and then relaxing and having fun in competition. Really enjoying the competition and not getting so tight and stressed out about stuff. Just knowing at the end of the day it's all going to be okay, and just having fun with it.
Cook: Yep. Definitely. We've had our fair share of injuries. I'm the guilty one of the party that is always getting injured and having to compete with basically one arm ... I think just trusting in our training, trusting in ourselves, keep taking care of our bodies, and we ended up here. Staying sharp up there and trusting in our synchro and just letting everything happen. Doing what we do in practice.
So what do the next couple of weeks look like for you? Sarah, you'll compete in the individual springboard. How are you feeling heading into that? Do you feel like today kind of gives you a little momentum?
Bacon: Yeah, I think it will. I think I need a couple of days to kind of let everything sink in and process everything that's happened in the last couple hours, but then after that I'll be ready to get back in the pool, start practicing my individual dives again, and then come the 7th (of August), I'll be ready to go.
Cook: And I'll be up in the stands cheering my butt off.
Bacon: Yes. I love your voice screaming for me. That always calms me down. I just feel better.
Cook: I have a very distinctive cheering voice, so I've been told.