Once a UNC Tar Heel diver, Greg Duncan makes his Olympic debut at Paris games

Greg Duncan is now officially an Olympian and that title can never be taken away from him.

The 25-year-old former UNC-Chapel Hill athlete competed in the men’s synchronized 3-meter springboard final at the Paris Olympics Friday alongside his friend Tyler Downs, who was in his second Olympic games.

Duncan, who ultimately transferred from UNC, earned honorable mention All American honors as a freshman at Chapel Hill. He graduated from Purdue University and represented the USA in 2019 at the World University Games in Naples, Italy. Not only is he a diver himself, but he coaches summer league diving.

He fell just short of the podium, finishing fourth at the 2023 World Championships in 3-meter men’s synchro springboard but his most recent accomplishment is at the top of the list - competing in Olympic 3-meter synchro springboard final.

Being an Olympian is the culmination of years and years of practice and for many, including Duncan, it takes a while to set in.

“No, it probably won’t set in until I leave, honestly, because then I’m going to be like, ‘wait, I wish I was still there,’ Duncan said. “Sharing the experiences that we’ve gained together, it’ll transcend the Olympic Games, which I think is the most amazing piece of it all.”

For the final, the top eight nations from around the world competed in pairs of two, each performing six different dives. Team USA got off to a bit of a rocky start and at the midway point, they were in fifth place.

They had a strong fourth dive, scoring a 72.42 with an inward 3½ somersaults but dropped to eighth. Mexico had a really strong fourth dive to give them the lead over China with two rounds remaining behind a huge Team Mexico crowd.

Duncan and Downs scored a 64.05 on their reverse 1 1⁄2 somersaults 3 1⁄2 twists and Team USA finished strong with final dive scoring a 73.47, their highest of the competition, but it wasn’t enough to make it on the podium.

China dominated their final dive scoring a massive 95.76 to clinch a gold medal and Great Britain had a really strong final dive, putting up a 94.62 to clinch a spot on the medal stand. But Mexico finished off the final with a solid sixth dive to lots of cheers, earning a score of 94.77 to best Great Britain for silver with the British rounding out the podium with bronze.

Regardless of the outcome for the Americans, they’re still soaking in every moment, accomplishing a feat few others can boast.

“It’s great - we’ve really looked back at the journey we’ve been through and all the experience that we’ve been able to gain throughout these past three years leading up to this moment,” Downs said. “It’s [Greg’s] first games, he’s now an Olympian. It’s crazy to think that I do this with a person I love so much and respect and just to go out there and give it our all and have fun is the best part.”

While their time competing at the Paris Games is over, their time being here is far from it. Now they get the chance to cheer on their fellow United States teammates and they’re still going to leave it all out there, even if they’re in the stands and not competing.

“Just going to support our teammates,” Duncan said of what he is looking forward to. “I mean we have a lot of great competitions coming up for the rest of Team USA in the diving pool, as well as every other arena we have here. So coming in and cheering our throats out or our voices off for them is going to be amazing and then go enjoy 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).