Diver Freida Lim meets Olympic qualifying criteria, in contention for Games spot

SINGAPORE: Diver Freida Lim on Tuesday (May 4) moved one step closer to qualifying for the Olympic Games, after finishing 11th in the Women's 10m Platform preliminary competition at the FINA Diving World Cup in Tokyo, Japan.

Lim could become the first female Singaporean diver to make the cut for the Games, and only the second diver in Singapore's history to do so after Jonathan Chan booked his berth in 2019.

According to FINA, the sport's international governing body, a total of 68 spots for female divers are up for grabs - 32 in the synchronised events and 36 for the two individual events.

Up to 18 athletes at the FINA Diving World Cup - the top 18 in each event - could potentially earn themselves a spot at the Olympic Games.

Lim's participation at the Tokyo Games is subject to FINA confirmation in June.

On Tuesday, the 23-year-old finished with a total of 289.6 after five dives in the preliminary portion of the event. This meant that she also qualified for the 18-strong semi-finals of the event which are slated to be held on Wednesday. 

Seven of Singapore's divers are currently competing at the meet in Japan. 

Chan and Max Lee finished 15th in the Men's 10m Synchronised event on Saturday, with Chan placing 24th in the Men's 10m Platform. In the women's 3m springboard event on Monday, Fong Kay Yian ended in 39th while compatriot Ashlee Tan finished in 48th.

The FINA meet is the final opportunity for Singapore's divers to qualify for the Olympics before the Games kick off on Jul 23. It will continue till May 6, with Mark and Timothy Lee both scheduled to compete in the men's 3m springboard event.

READ: After much uncertainty, Singapore’s divers eye final shot at qualifying for Tokyo Olympics

The Tokyo Olympics, originally scheduled to start in July last year, were postponed in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Editor’s note: An earlier version of this story, based on information provided by the Singapore Swimming Association (SSA), said Lim had qualified for the Olympics. SSA later clarified that while Lim had met the qualifying criteria, her spot was still subject to confirmation by FINA.

Catch Team Singapore divers and all the action from the FINA World Cup 2021 live on meWATCH at this link.