Callum Jones
The American diver who scored a zero after a mid-air collision at the Olympics has spoken out on her 'crushing heartbreak'.
Alison Gibson was looking to secure her spot in the women's 3m springboard semi-finals earlier this week when she decided to perform a difficult move.
If she managed to pull off the two-and-a-half pike, Gibson would have almost could have guaranteed her space in the next round.
But if she was unable to execute, it's unlikely she'd have made it through.
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Unfortunately for the US diver, it was the latter that came to fruition and she walked away with a 0.0 at the Olympics.
The dive resulted in Gibson hitting her feet and heels on the board, with the impact causing her to lose momentum and enter the water feet first.
The diver spoke out following the gut-wrenching mistake, telling Reuters: "Obviously, today didn’t go the way I wanted it to, but I think you can learn and grow from every experience, and I truly hope that the next generation of athletes recognize that even in the worst moments you can keep fighting, you can walk courageously.
"I definitely was in pain. But one thing that I say is I hope that anyone who is watching just was able to see what it looks like to get up and keep going even when things don’t go the way you want them to. It's about the fight."
Speaking over on her own Substack, she wrote: "I asked God why so many times. I was called back into diving a year ago. I won nationals. I qualified the Olympic quota spot at Worlds. I qualified for the Olympics. I made it this far. Just to have it end with a crushing heartbreak. I poured my heart and my soul into training. I sacrificed so much. I’ve asked myself what I did to deserve this. I have walked diligently and faithfully every step of the way. It doesn’t feel fair."
She continued: "Over the past 24 hours, I’ve cried, and I have been angry. I’ve asked, ‘why would a good God let me make it all the way to this stage just to allow me to get crushed in front of the world?’ This is hard, and my faith has been tested.
"Even though my competition didn’t go the way I wanted. And even though I feel like the world is trying to tear me down piece by piece and leave me shattered, I will keep my chin up because I know that my value and worth come from God.
"I do not know God’s plan. I do not know why he would allow this, but I must continue persevering, and I hope that my willingness to persevere and fight on can inspire those around me."
The painful moment quickly went viral on social media and Gibson found herself in the headlines for the reasons she would never have wanted.
Many Olympic viewers took to Twitter to comment on Gibson's unfortunate attempt.
"Surprised this doesn't happen more often, even at their level, in the other events some were skimming platforms on the way down, so dangerous," one person commented.
A second added: "Oohh, that's not a good moment. Hope she was okay," while another said: "Glad she's okay and was able to walk out."
While it may have been a major disappointment for Gibson, she took to social media after her time in the pool to thank fans for their support.
"Thank you to everyone who came around to support me yesterday! Sports can be brutal but I refuse to let one hard moment define me," she said on her Instagram Story.