Kim Su-ji narrowly misses cut for springboard final, named reserve

Kim scored a total of 272.75 over five rounds in the semifinals at the Aquatics Centre in Saint-Denis, France to finish in 13th place in the pool of 18, earning the first reserve spot.

Korea's Kim Su-ji competes in the women's 3-meter springboard semifinal at the Paris Olympics on Thursday. [REUTERS/YONHAP]

Korea's Kim Su-ji narrowly failed to qualify for the women's 3-meter springboard final at the Paris Olympics on Thursday, falling one place short of a spot in the top 12.

Kim scored a total of 272.75 over five rounds in the semifinals at the Aquatics Centre in Saint-Denis, France to finish in 13th place in the pool of 18.

The top 12 divers qualified for the final on Friday. As the 13th-placed diver, Kim is a reserve and technically has a shot at the final if a qualified athlete cannot compete. The 14th-placed diver was also named a reserve.

She started off strong, putting 58.50 points on the board with her first dive. But her performance slipped in the next two rounds, with scores of 51.15 and 47.60. She managed to make up some ground with her final two dives, scoring 58.50 and 57.00 points respectively but was knocked out of the top 12 before the end of the semifinals.

Kim, 26, placed 15th in the 3-meter springboard at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and also earned a berth at the 2012 London Olympics in the 10-meter platform event.

Mexico's Aranza Vazquez Montano, the third-highest-placed diver in Wednesday's preliminary round, scored zero points with her fourth dive.

Unless Kim gets a spot in the final by qualifying as a reserve, Thursday's semifinal will mark her last appearance at the Paris Olympics.

BY MARY YANG [mary.yang@joongang.co.kr]