Team USA WINS its first medal of the Olympic Games thanks to Sarah Bacon and Kassidy Cook in Paris

Best friends Sarah Bacon and Kassidy Cook hauled in the USA’s first medal of the 2024 Paris Olympics by landing silver in the women’s synchronized diving event.

Sarah, 27 and Kassidy, 29, who became buddies as children, saw their years of friendship as well as hard work pay off in style.

The women watched the 2008 Beijing Olympics together and began dreaming of being on the world’s athletics stage themselves and those dreams have become reality.

Sarah, of Minneapolis said after landing silver: ’We’ve known each other since we were like 10 years old, so we go all the way back to nationals when we were that young, always going one-two at nationals, always hanging out.

‘I went to her house in The Woodlands to watch the Opening Ceremonies in 2008.

"We just had a connection ever since we were young and it has just transferred into our synchro. We’re best friends and we enjoy doing it together.’

Texan Kassidy added: ‘We were really consistent. We were able to dive the way we train.

‘It wasn't our best performance but we didn’t miss anything, so we’re really happy with how we did. To be able to walk away with a silver medal is freaking awesome.

‘Everything we’ve been through as individuals and as a team, injuries, heartbreak, coming so close to reaching our goals but falling short has only made this moment sweeter. To be able to share it together means everything in the world.

‘We have a special connection in the pool and outside of the pool and that has been a major component of how successful we are as a synchro team.’

They finished behind the Chinese team of Yani Chang and Yiwen Chen and just ahead of Great Britain's Yasmin Harper and Scarlett Mew Jensen.

Bacon and Cook both missed out on the Olympics when they were held in Tokyo in 2021, but Cook last competed in the 3-meter springboard at the Rio Olympics in 2016. She finished 13th in that event.

Bacon and Cook are both world-renowned divers with multiple medals. Bacon won gold in the 1-meter springboard at the 2019 World Championships.

Both divers are renowned on the world stage with multiple medals. Bacon won a gold in the 2019 World Championships in the 1-meter springboard.

Chang and Chen dominated this event with a score of 337.68 points - good enough for both of them to earn their first Olympic medals of their careers.

The pair have multiple gold medals at the world championship level.

Harper and Mew Jensen took home the bronze for Great Britain's first medal of the games - and the first women's diving medal for Team GB in 64 years.

It looked as if the pair had lost out going into the final round as Australia only needed a score of 58.68 to overtake them. But a slip from Annabelle Smith saw the Australians score 48.60.