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Kim Su-ji competes in the women's 3-meter springboard semifinal at the Paris Olympics on Thursday. (Reuters-Yonhap) |
Kim Su-ji just missed out on the final of the women's 3-meter springboard diving at the Paris Olympics on Thursday.
Kim finished 13th among 18 divers in the semifinal with 272.75 points at the Aquatics Centre in Saint-Denis, north of Paris, with only the top 12 moving on to the final.
Kim finished 6.15 points behind the last qualifier, Yasmin Harper of Britain. Kim will be the first reserve in case a finalist cannot compete Friday.
Kim ranked seventh after her first dive with 58.50 points but dropped out of the top 12, never to return.
She moved from 15th overall to 13th overall after scoring 58.50 points with her fourth dive. But she remained in 13th place when her fifth and final dive netted her 57.00 points, tied for the 14th-best score for the round.
Kim was trying to become the first South Korean female diver to reach an Olympic final.
The 26-year-old had been dealing with muscle aches in the days leading up to her competition. She had said after Wednesday's preliminary that she suddenly started feeling better as soon as she had arrived at the arena.
But physical problems took their toll on Kim on Thursday.
"I felt I would have to get really lucky to advance to the final. I guess I didn't take care of my body as well as I should have," Kim said. "I felt a little sluggish this morning. I figured I'd get better once the competition started. My body felt okay. I just didn't perform well."
Looking at the bigger picture, Kim said she wanted to make more people pay attention to diving.
"I was hoping I could make diving become more popular," she said. "It's a shame my competition will end here in the semifinal."
This was the third Olympics for Kim, and it won't be her last.
"I am looking at Los Angeles as my last Olympics, and we still have four years to go," she said. "There's plenty of time. I will try to win a medal there." (Yonhap)
