Competing for her native Mexico, decorated UNC diver completes her run at Paris Olympics

UNC-Chapel Hill alumna and four-time national champion Aranza Vazquez competed in the semifinal of the women’s 3-meter springboard competition at the 2024 Paris Olympics Thursday before most were awake back home, finishing 16th overall to unexpectedly miss Friday’s final.

Competing for her home country of Mexico for her second Olympic Games, after finishing sixth in Tokyo, Vazquez finished third in Wednesday’s preliminaries. Having prepped all summer after adding two more national titles to her trophy case, Vazquez had experienced smooth sailing until Thursday’s competition.

Scoring a 57.00 score on her first dive to open up her Olympic semifinal competition Thursday, Vazquez nailed her forward 3½ somersaults for a 68.20 score on her second dive. Team Mexico and Tar Heel diving coach Yaidel Gamboa was elated, letting out a scream of joy and fist bump once she hit the water.

After moving from ninth to fourth between dives, Vazquez performed a back 2½ somersaults, scoring a 55.50 and putting her in sixth.

Immediately after getting out of the water following her fourth dive on her reverse 2½ somersaults, Vazquez raised her hand and walked over to the judges to have a discussion, which caused a lengthy delay but in the end was ruled a failed dive.

Vazquez bounced back with a 67.50 on her forward 2½ somersaults 1 twist that pleased applauding fans holding Mexico flags who chanted “Mexico, Mexico.” But it wasn’t enough to get her over the hurdle from her previous dive, as she was crushed going from third on Wednesday to 16th on Thursday to miss her chance to finish on the medal podium in Paris.

Even amid the heartbreak, she is still proud to have the chance to represent her college and home country every time she competitions internationally.

“It’s honestly incredible,” Vazquez said of being able to represent UNC and Mexico again on the Olympic stage. “Every time I go to international competitions, there’s a lot of divers that are also in the college level in the NCAA so I get to see them and it’s just really cool how we’re able to talk about our experiences in college in another country. UNC [is] the school that opened the doors for me, that’s given me so many opportunities and so many good things, so many lessons and everything.”

Anna Laible is a student with UNC Media Hub, a program with the UNC Hussman School of Journalism and Media, reporting from the Summer Olympics in Paris. Laible hosts the Speak Up Sports Podcast. Follow her journey covering her first Olympics on her Instagram (@anna_laible).