By Brian Murphy, WRAL

Holly Springs diver Andrew Capobianco is headed back to the Olympics.

Capobianco, a silver medalist at the Tokyo Games in synchronized springboard, won the men’s 3-meter springboard event at the U.S. Olympic diving trials in Nashville on Sunday.

“I don’t really have words to describe it,” Capobianco said during an NBC television interview. “I was just trying to be in the moment and not get ahead of myself too much.”

The 24-year-old Capobianco led after the semifinals and extended that lead during early rounds of the six-dive finals. After a a disastrous dive in the fourth round, Capobianco sealed the win with solid dives in the final two rounds. He finished with 971.80 points.

“I maybe got a little bit ahead of myself on that back, which I’m kind of [upset] about,” Capobianco said, referring to the fourth drive. “But other than that, I think that was a great list.”

Capobianco, a former gymnast, just missed qualifying for the team in synchronized springboard earlier in the week. He and teammate Quinn Henninger finished second, 2.37 points behind the first-place team of Greg Duncan and Tyler Downs. Only the top team qualified for Paris.

“It was a very hard week with synchro,” Capobianco told WRAL on Monday. “It did not go as well as I wanted it to. We were just of the mark with that with qualifying. I just kind of had to regroup and take my time. Refocus. Just believe in myself for the individual event.”

Capobianco grew up on Long Island, New York, but attended Holly Springs High School. He won North Carolina high school state titles in 2016 and 2017 in the 1m diving event. In 2016, he had the second-highest winning score of the decade.

After he won the silver medal in Tokyo in 2021, Capobianco returned to Holly Springs.

“The reception that we got from the town of Holly Springs with the fire department, the police department, escorts, him riding into town on a firetruck,” said Andrew’s dad, Mike. “A little get together with all the people, and him being able to pay for the graces that God has given him, and sit with children, and sign things for them. It was magical. That is the biggest, most important part of the ride. It’s not the medals that you bring home, it’s the lives that you can touch In doing what you’re doing.”

Capobianco underwent knee surgery in December. He plans to return to Indiana (he is an Indiana University alum) before heading to Olympic training camp in Germany in mid-July.

“My body needs some recovery,” he told WRAL. “Also, mental recovery as well.”

Source: wralsportsfan.com