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Kassidy Cook Talks Olympics Postponement, Quarantine Training

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – AUGUST 13: Kassidy Cook of the United States competes in the Women’s 3M Springboard semi final on Day 8 of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games at the Maria Lenk Aquatics Centre on August 13, 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images)

Kassidy Cook is an American diver who placed 13th in the women’s 3 metre springboard at the 2016 Rio Olympics. A graduate of Stanford University, Cook competes in both the individual 3m springboard and the synchronized 3m springboard. As with countless athletes across the world, Cook’s training has been forced indoors due to the spread of the coronavirus. Below, she talked with Just Women’s Sports about how she’s handling quarantine, what the Olympics’ postponement means to her, why she walked away from the sport, and what brought her back. 

Where were you when sporting events started getting canceled due to COVID-19?

In February, I was in Madrid and then Rostock, Germany for a competition called the Grand Prinx. And then that’s when all this kind of started. We heard about all the cases in China and we noticed that a lot of the Chinese divers were absent from the competition because, at the time, they weren’t allowed to leave their country. Even then, I don’t think anyone knew the virus would turn into what it has become.

What were the following weeks like? 

I went home to Texas toward the end of February to train, and that’s when the pandemic situation started escalating. Sports left and right were getting canceled or postponed, and I started wondering what was going to happen to diving. At the time, we had the World Cup coming up, which was supposed to be the Olympic qualifying event, and then obviously the Olympics this summer. But as the days went by, more cases just kept popping up, and there was a lot of uncertainty. It was a strange time because Olympic hopefuls like me were still training and practicing, but it was hard not to think about the virus. It was definitely distracting and worrisome. Then our pool shut down, and there wasn’t a place for me to train, and they still hadn’t announced whether the World Cup or the Olympics were going to be cancelled or postponed. So I had nowhere to train and no idea if I was still going to go to my competition, and it still wasn’t clear what this virus was going to become.

What was your reaction when the Olympics were officially postponed? 

It was obviously the right move given the severity of the virus, but at first, I was definitely upset. I had quit my job and moved back home to Texas from San Francisco to train for the Olympics, so to hear that they weren’t going to happen this year was really hard. But a couple days after I gave it some real thought, I realized that the postponement actually was a good thing. The world is in such a hectic state right now. No athlete has anywhere to train. A lot of people are mentally and physically unhealthy. And you have to put it in perspective — the health of the citizens of the world, the citizens of our country, come above sport. And the silver lining is that I now have an additional year to train and get as good as I can for the Olympics.

Where is your head at now? 

Well, you have to make sacrifices for the Olympics regardless. So for me, making the sacrifice of another year is not a big deal, in the grand scheme of things. There is no question that I am going to keep training. People were feeling bad for me when they first heard about the postponement, telling me how it must suck to be an athlete right now. And I’m just like, it sucks for everyone, the whole entire world, athlete or not. Things are getting canceled, people are losing their jobs, family and friends are getting sick and dying. So I should be the last person to feel sorry for. I’m hanging in there and at the end of the day, it’s just a sport. The health of my family and community will always come above that.

How much of an impact will taking a few months off have on your future performances?

It’s tough for divers, because it’s not like we can just go for a run outside and call it a day. Diving requires very specific training, and it’s hard to stimulate the jumping movements at home. But regardless, you can still keep up with your physical fitness by doing bodyweight exercises and you can stay mentally focused by doing a lot of visualization. Diving is a big mental sport. People always say that if you could turn off your brain, you would be a better diver because your muscle memory would take over. So if you can practice visualizing what you would do off the board and model it on the ground, I think it can help with the mental aspect of the sport. At the same time, since a lot of diving is muscle memory, I’m not too worried about getting some time off.

What kind of workouts have you been able to do while under quarantine? 

My team has also been doing daily workouts on Zoom to stay on schedule. We meet at the same time every single day, and our coaches run us through the workout. It’s nice to be able to see everyone even if it’s not in person. It helps this hectic time feel a little more normal. In terms of workouts, it’s all bodyweight, plyometrics, core and stretching. These are things you can do anywhere. And it’s been fun to switch it up, plus it’s good to put your body in a state of confusion sometimes. It’ll get stronger in places where you didn’t know you were weak.

Overall, I’m trying to mirror my usual schedule as much as I can, just to keep my own sanity. I’m waking up at the same time as I would if I had practice, doing a workout in the morning when I would be having morning practice and then one in the afternoon. I want to do as much as I can during this time, because if others aren’t, it will give me a competitive edge. And on the other hand, I don’t want my competition to have an edge on me because I decided to slack off.

How does Olympic qualifying for diving work? You mentioned the World Cup — was there a specific result you needed to achieve there? 

For diving, they don’t grant every country a spot at the Olympics. You have to earn your spot by placing well in competitions. And the World Cup, which was supposed to be in April, was the last chance for countries to qualify for the Olympics. So my first job was to go to the World Cup to earn the United States a spot. Not my personal spot, but a spot for our country. It’s a lot of pressure, because if you do poorly, you’re letting your whole country down by not giving anyone a shot to make the Olympics. I was put in the same shoes in 2016, when there were no spots for the United States going into the World Cup, but thankfully I performed well enough at the event to earn my country a trip to Rio.

This year, if I had performed well enough at the World Cup to get the US a spot in Tokyo, then we would have had the US Olympic trials in June, and that’s where I would have competed to get my own personal spot. I compete in two events: synchro and individual, so at the trials I would have had to win the synchro event and then get first or second in the individual event to qualify for the Olympics.

How do you handle that pressure of having to compete for the whole team during the World Cup? 

I like having that pressure because I trust myself to deal with it. I’m a veteran, I’m experienced. And I hate to say it, but I don’t want to put my trust in somebody else getting the spot. I want to be the one up on the board.

Can you talk about the difference between the two events you compete in? 

So I compete individually in the three-meter springboard. That’s the event I did in the 2016 Olympics. But this time around, I am also doing that event in synchro. That’s when two divers are diving at the same time. It’s so much fun because it has aspects of a team sport within an individual sport. My partner, Sarah Bacon, and I have known each other since we were young and are really good friends. We’re having a lot of fun doing synchro, and our timing is super natural, which doesn’t happen for a lot to divers. We’ve only been paired together for a few months, whereas some partners have been together for years. But because we have similar styles of diving, similar body types, and similar strengths, the hard parts about synchro come easy to us, which just makes it even more fun.

Have you two won any competitions together?

In the time we’ve been partners, we’ve won all of the competitions that we’ve competed in, and we’ve been told by international judges we have a really good chance of medaling at the Olympics. So it’s been refreshing to have that confidence from the judges and also to just be having so much fun with it. I think it’s made me a better individual diver because I’m just having a lot of fun at practice. I don’t have to internalize all these pressures anymore, because there’s somebody I can share the experience with.

How did your experience at the 2016 games motivate you during this current cycle?

The 2016 Olympics were a great experience, even though I didn’t compete as well as I wanted to. At the time, I was only about 20 years old. I was super young, and I think I let the outside pressures get to me. I definitely didn’t have the confidence I have now. I wasn’t heading into the Olympics that year thinking I could medal, I was just ecstatic that I was even there. But this next time around, I think my focus and maturity will really come in handy and will hopefully give me an edge that I didn’t have in 2016. But I mean, in Rio I had the time of my life and I came in 13th in the world. That’s not so bad.

You took some time off after the 2016 Olympics. How come? 

So after I graduated from Stanford, I retired for a year. I had just been injured so many times and I wanted to be able to support myself with what I thought was a more legitimate job. I mean, you don’t make money from diving in the US, which is ultimately a driving force for a lot of athletes who retire after college because they need to make living. And for me personally, training would have meant moving back home, and to be completely honest, I was just embarrassed to do that.

But after working and living in San Francisco for a little bit, I started to really miss diving. I realized there would be other jobs waiting for me for the rest of my life, and that most of the negative energy I had about diving was all in my head. No one was actually going to care if I moved back home to train. And even if that was the case, I didn’t want to give up something I was passionate about just to please others.

Obviously your focus is day to day at the moment because of all the chaos. But looking past the 2021 Olympics, do you see yourself retiring again or continuing with the sport?

I think I’m going to keep competing for a while. I’m having a lot of fun with it, and as long as my body stays healthy and as long as I’m still enjoying what I’m doing, I would like to keep on going until at least the 2024 Olympics. But obviously, it’s day by day. Anything could happen. But now that I’ve started up again, I would love to keep it going.

USC Legend Cheryl Miller Headlines AP Women’s College Basketball All-Time First Team

USC legend Cheryl Miller looks on during a 1983 NCAA basketball game.
USC legend Cheryl Miller headlines the AP All-Time First Team. (David Madison/Getty Images)

The AP Women's College Basketball Poll turns 50 next year, and the publication began celebrating its rankings run a few months early by asking 13 former players and AP sportswriters to fill an All-Time team roster with the NCAA's best.

First Team honors went to USC legend Cheryl Miller, UConn greats Breanna Stewart and Diana Taurasi, all-time leading NCAA scorer and Iowa alum Caitlin Clark, and position-defining Tennessee forward Candace Parker.

Standout Huskies Sue Bird and Maya Moore also snagged AP All-Time nods, earning Second Team spots alongside Virginia star guard Dawn Staley, Tennessee forward and three-time national champion Chamique Holdsclaw, and three-time AIAW champion and MVP Lusia Harris from Delta State.

Even the AP list's reserves are full of legends, with basketball pioneers like Kansas star Lynette Woodard and UCLA's Ann Meyers Drysdale joining Lisa Leslie (USC) and Sheryl Swoopes (Texas Tech) as well as current WNBA superstars A'ja Wilson (South Carolina) and Brittney Griner (Baylor) on the All-Time bench.

"Being named an AP All-American is one of the most storied honors in college sports," Clark said in response to her AP All-Time First Team nod. "It's fun to think about what it would have been like if we all played together."

"What an accomplishment and what an honor," said fellow First Team honoree Taurasi. "There's so many great women who paved the way."

Anonymous WNBA Insiders Reveal Leadership Concerns as CBA Deadline Looms

Commissioner Cathy Engelbert speaks to media before Game 1 of the 2025 WNBA Finals.
WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert appears to be sticking around as CBA negotiations continue. (Ian Maule/Getty Images)

With the October 31st WNBA CBA deadline looming, ESPN recently conducted an anonymous survey of team owners, executives, players, and other insiders about the simmering tensions between athletes and league leadership in the wake of Minnesota Lynx star Napheesa Collier's viral exit interview last month.

"Once you have that kind of fighting with your best players, it's a death spiral," a team executive told ESPN after fans booed commissioner Cathy Engelbert at this year's WNBA Finals.

"Change is a must," another exec said in the anonymous WNBA survey. "Either Cathy has to change how she relates to the players, or there has to be a change in that role."

That said, not everyone agreed, with one owner saying, "If you fire her now, it's admitting weakness. It's a terrible look for the league. I can't stand what [Collier] did. That was a private conversation. It makes me not want to fire [Engelbert] — even though I think she should be."

CBA negotiations have also remained frosty this month, with Las Vegas Aces star guard Chelsea Gray telling ESPN that the talks are "not where we thought and wanted to be at this point in time. It's market share, it's salaries, it's player safety, it's everything."

With the parties still reportedly far from a deal, the threat of a work stoppage next season hangs over the stalled proceedings.

"I don't think it's going to be done by Halloween," a league source told ESPN. "[But] in the end, a work stoppage doesn't benefit anybody."

Four Clubs Clinch 2025 NWSL Playoffs in High-Stakes Weekend

Goalkeeper Kailen Sheridan raises her arm in triumph in a San Diego Wave huddle after a 2025 NWSL match.
The No. 5 San Diego Wave clinched a spot in the 2025 NWSL Playoffs with Saturday's 6-1 win over the No. 14 Chicago Stars. (Orlando Ramirez/NWSL via Getty Images)

Just one ticket to the 2025 NWSL Playoffs remains unpunched after four different clubs clinched postseason berths over the weekend.

The No. 4 Seattle Reign clinched with a 2-1 win over the No. 12 Utah Royals on Friday before the No. 5 San Diego Wave emphatically slammed the door with a 6-1 Saturday drubbing of the No. 14 Chicago Stars, while the No. 6 Portland Thorns joined the postseason party with a 2-0 Sunday win over No. 11 Angel City.

As for No. 7 Gotham FC, a tense 2-2 draw with No. 8 Louisville propelled the Bats to their third consecutive postseason appearance on Sunday, leaving Racing still poised to earn a club-first playoff spot with a post-international break win.

The newly clinched quartet will join the previously postseason-bound No. 1 Kansas City Current, No. 2 Washington Spirit, and No. 3 Orlando Pride in the 2025 NWSL Playoffs.

Only one team — No. 9 North Carolina — can challenge Louisville for the eighth and final berth, as weekend results saw both the No. 10 Houston Dash and No. 11 Angel City eliminated while the Courage took down No. 13 Bay FC 4-1 on Friday to remain in contention.

In order to snag that eighth spot, however, North Carolina will need a 2025 Decision Day win over Gotham — plus a Louisville loss or draw against Bay FC.

"The reality is, we are still in control of our destiny with one game to go," Racing captain Janine Sonis said on Sunday. "[It's] not like us to not to keep things interesting."

With one postseason spot and the majority of the 2025 Playoffs seeding still up for grabs, the NWSL is gearing up for yet another game-changing Decision Day on November 2nd.

Houston Ends Kansas City Unbeaten Streak as Temwa Chawinga Exits with Injury

Kansas City Current defender Ellie Wheeler rests her hands on the shoulders of striker Temwa Chawinga after a 2025 NWSL match.
Kansas City Current star Temwa Chawinga exited Saturday's 1-0 loss in the 29th minute. (Kyle Rivas/NWSL via Getty Images)

The No. 1 Kansas City Current hit an unexpected skid on Saturday, when the 2025 NWSL Shield-winners suffered a 1-0 upset loss to the No. 10 Houston Dash — and lost their star striker, Temwa Chawinga, to injury along the way.

Despite leading the match in shots, shots on goal, and possession, the defeat snapped the Current's 17-game unbeaten streak, leaving the club one result short of setting a new franchise record.

"Sometimes things like this will happen," Kansas City head coach Vlatko Andonovski said postgame. "You're going to dominate, you're going to do everything well, but you're not going to score a goal…. I'm glad it happened now and not two games from now."

The loss stings, but with the top postseason berth already secured, Kansas City's concern turns to their 2024 MVP after Chawinga exited the match with a non-contact injury.

A knock to the upper right leg saw the Malawi international wheeled off the pitch in the 29th minute, with Andonovski later clarifying that it was not a knee injury.

Considered a frontrunner to repeat as both NWSL MVP and Golden Boot winner, the 27-year-old leads the league in scoring this season with 15 goals over 23 appearances.

While Kansas City is still awaiting a specific diagnosis for their star striker, time could be on the Current's side, as this week's international break gives Chawinga a moment to rest before her club closes out their 2025 NWSL regular season — and, more importantly, takes aim at a championship run.

How to watch the next Kansas City Current match

The league-leading Current will be back in action on NWSL Decision Day, with Kansas City closing out their 2025 regular-season campaign by hosting the No. 5 San Diego Wave on Sunday, November 2nd.

The time and broadcast details for the 2025 season's Decision Day will drop at a later date at NWSLSoccer.com.

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