Hello everyone, it’s not every day that you hear about an Olympic athlete drawing comparisons to a fictional college slacker, but that’s exactly what happened at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Team USA diver Alison Gibson had a tough break on the 3-meter springboard, scoring a 0.0 during Wednesday’s round— a score that ties her with the infamous GPA of John Blutarsky, the character played by John Belushi in the 1978 comedy *Animal House.*
Gibson, a 25-year-old from Texas, found herself in an unfortunate position when her feet rotated into the board during her inward dive with 2.5 somersaults.
The mishap caused her to lose control mid-air, leading to a flailing descent into the water and the dreaded zero score. Visibly upset, Gibson left the pool area holding her hands to her face, clearly frustrated with the outcome.
Despite the disappointment, there’s a silver lining: Gibson was unharmed and able to continue competing. After four dives, she ranked 27th out of 28 competitors, but she showed resilience by bouncing back with respectable scores in her subsequent attempts.
Gibson scored 49.50 on her back 2.5 somersaults, 68.20 on her forward 3.5 somersaults, and 58.50 on her reverse 2.5 somersaults.
While Gibson’s 0.0 score is the first of its kind in the ongoing Paris Olympics, she’s certainly not alone in facing tough competition. Australian Maddison Keeney led the women’s preliminary round with a total score of 337.35, followed by top divers from Mexico, China, Great Britain, and Japan.
On the men’s side, China continues its dominance, with Wang Zongyuan and defending Olympic champion Xie Siyi taking the top two spots in the semifinals.
Alison Gibson’s Olympic journey may have hit a bump, but she’s shown the spirit to keep pushing forward. The road to success is rarely smooth, and this Texan diver is proving she’s got the tenacity to keep diving back in, no matter what obstacles she faces.
The commentator correctly predicted 0.0 scores for the #US diver Alison Gibson. Probably it could be the 1st time, or for a long time, in the #Olympics history.
That’s only the first round.
But the media’s sensations haven’t stopped, calling it a “nightmare.”🤣 #OlympicGames pic.twitter.com/Eok9DZqCSX
— petehw1 (@petehw11) August 8, 2024
