A Canadian diver who scored a 0 with a feet-first flop with the finals on the line said she wasn't g

Publish date: 2024-06-15
2021-08-02T01:31:36Z

The Canadian diver Pamela Ware experienced a worst-case scenario for any diver at the Tokyo Olympics.

Competing in the women's 3-meter springboard semifinal, Ware had a misstep on her approach that forced her to bail out of her last dive and jump feet-first into the water.

Worse, Ware was competing for the final. One TV announcer noted during Ware's approach that Ware was attempting a dive with a 3.5 difficulty, the most difficult of the competition to that point. The other announcer said, "This dive could be spectacular!"

As Ware left the board, she clearly did not have her rhythm down and instead attempted something akin to a backyard plunge.

via NBC
via NBC
via NBC

"That's what pressure can do," one of the announcers said, noting that Ware would not score a point on the attempt.

READ MORE: The updated Tokyo Olympics medal table

Ware discussed the fallout on Instagram, thanking those who offered her support and saying the mistake could have happened to anyone.

"What we do in the competition is just a tiny factor of what we actually do to get to where we are," Ware said in a video. "I was so ready for this competition, and I made a mistake. It could have happened to anybody, but it happened to me at the wrong time."

Ware had placed fourth in the preliminary round. She told reporters after her failed dive that she was still in shock and believed she would have risked injury if she attempted the dive.

"I think that if I would have done the dive, I could have possibly hurt myself," Ware told reporters, per CBC's Christine Rankin.

The comment is especially pertinent, as the American gymnast Simone Biles dropped out of several events with the "twisties," a phenomenon that can make gymnasts lose track of where they are in the air.

Ware, 28, said she was proud of her accomplishments to that point and planned on returning to the Olympic stage.

"I have done everything possible to make it to where I am and I'm human, I'm allowed to make mistakes," she said in her Instagram video before pausing. "I hope you guys are going to get used to having me around because I'm not going anywhere, I'm not giving up."

Watch Ware's video below:

A post shared by Pamela Ware (@pamelaware1)

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