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Michael Hixon and Andrew Capobianco clinched an Olympic quota spot in Tokyo Sunday in the three-meter synchronized competition.
The duo finished fourth at the FINA World Cup event in Tokyo, just a point and a half out of bronze with a score of 414.18. That earns them one of the 12 quota spots for the U.S. at the Tokyo Games.
“Tonight was really special for Mike and I,” Capobianco said in a USA Diving release. “We haven’t necessarily had all the preparation that we wanted leading into this but we showed a lot of heart and fight, which makes us feel really confident moving forward. It is such an honor to have gotten the call to compete for the Olympic quota spot and I’m just so excited that we did our job. I also want to send a shoutout to everyone back home who stayed up to watch and cheer – love you guys!”
“Mike and Andrew had a fantastic day today,” said Dan Laak, High Performance Director for USA Diving, “Going into the competition we knew that they had the dives and as long as they were able to execute, we had a great shot at qualifying. As always, they were calm under pressure and true professionals. We are extremely proud of their finish today and are looking forward to our final four days of competition.”
Michael Hixon, 26, is the veteran of the pair. He won silver at the 2016 Olympics paired with Sam Dorman. His international record dates back to the 2010 Youth Olympic Games, and he has a one-meter bronze at the 2015 World Championships on his record. The pair won bronze at the Pan Am Games in 2019.
Like Hixon, Capobianco has come through the Indiana talent factory. He’s coming off consecutive NCAA titles in the three-meter springboard in 2019 and 2021 around the NCAA postponement in 2020.
The Hixon/Capobianco result clinches nine of 12 Olympic quota spots for the U.S. Sarah Bacon, who already clinched a three-meter synchro spot with Kassidy Cook, and Samantha Pickens will vie for spots in the three-meter individual on Monday. Zachary Cooper will dive on platform.
