Loukas Advances to Olympic Diving Semifinals

dove into the semifinals of the three-meter Olympic springboard competition Friday at the Aquatics Center at the London Games.

Loukas got off to strong start and finished with a score of 330.45 to finish in seventh of the 30 divers in the preliminary round. That easily put her in the top 18 divers who advanced to . Should Loukas score in the top 12 on Saturday, she would take part in Sunday’s finals.

Earlier: Local Olympic Diver Set for London

Competing before nearly two dozen family and friends who made the trip to London to cheer her on, Loukas looked strong early in the competition. After the first two of the five dives she would complete, the Riverwoods native and Deerfield High School grad was in fourth place overall.

Loukas began with a Back, 2-1/2 somersault and was awarded a score of 72.00. She then followed with a Reverse, 2-1/2 somersault and again scored 72.00. He third dive, an Inward, 2-12 somersault scored her a 63.

She then faltered a bit on her toughest dive, a Forward, 3-1/2 somersault, scoring a 60.45 as Loukas dropped to eighth place.

Loukas regrouped on her final dive, a Forward, 2-1/2 somersault with a twist to score a 67.5. She exited the pool with a smile, knowing that her effort put her through to the next round.

American Cassidy Krug also moved on to the semifinals with a score of 320.10 to place her 10th in the preliminary round.