Former University of Georgia diver Freida Lim was officially confirmed for the 2020 Summer Olympics diving competition Tuesday morning by FINA, the sport’s governing body.
Lim will represent her home nation of Singapore in the women’s 10-meter platform event, making her the female Olympic diver in the country’s history. She is also the first Georgia female diver to ever make an Olympic roster.
Two previous male Bulldogs have appeared at the Games: current diving head coach Chris Colwill competed for the United States in 2008 and 2012, while former volunteer diving coach Cesar Castro represented Brazil in 2016. Additionally, former diving head coach Dan Laak served as an assistant for the U.S. in 2008 and 2012, followed by Brazil in 2016.
While today marked the confirmation of her qualification, Lim secured her spot last month at the FINA Diving World Cup in Tokyo when she placed 11th in the preliminary round before finishing 15th in the semifinals with a mark of 272.35. She earned one of 36 available spots in the two individual diving events at the Olympics. She will be one of two Singaporean divers in Tokyo, joining teammate Jonathan Chan in the men’s competition.
Lim competed for Georgia for three seasons, earning an Honorable Mention All-America citation on the platform at the 2019 NCAA Championships. She qualified for the NCAA Zone B Championships in all three seasons in Athens, advanced to NCAAs in 2018, and placed fourth on the platform at the 2018 SEC Championships. Prior to joining Georgia, she competed her freshman year at Clemson, placing second on platform at the ACC Championships before the program was cut following the 2016-17 season. She was a two-time CSCAA Scholar All-American and SEC Academic Honor Roll honoree, and graduated in May with degrees in Dietetics and Culinary Science & Nutrition.
With the addition of Lim, eight former members of the Georgia swimming and diving program have qualified for the Tokyo Games, along with the appointment of Tom Cousins Head Coach Jack Bauerle as a U.S. assistant coach. The seven swimming alums named to the United States team marked the most of any NCAA program. Furthermore, Singapore marks the 20th different nation to be represented at the Olympics by a Georgia swimmer or diver, a list that includes 85 athletes at 11 different games.
The 2020 Summer Olympic Games commence in Tokyo with the Opening Ceremonies on Friday, July 23, with the swimming competition running Saturday, July 24 through Sunday, Aug. 1. The women’s 10-meter platform competition begins with prelims on Wednesday, Aug. 4, followed by semifinals and finals the following day.
GEORGIA OLYMPIANS
United States
Jack Bauerle – men’s assistant coach (sixth appearance)
Gunnar Bentz – 200m butterfly
Nic Fink – 200m breaststroke
Hali Flickinger – 200m butterfly, 400m IM
Natalie Hinds – 4x100m freestyle relay*
Chase Kalisz – 200m IM, 400m IM
Jay Litherland – 400m IM
Allison Schmitt – 200m freestyle, 4x100m freestyle relay
Olivia Smoliga – 4x100m freestyle relay
Andrew Wilson – 100m breaststroke, 200m breaststroke*
Singapore
Freida Lim – 10m platform diving
*Denotes post-graduates training with Athens Bulldog Swim Club pro group under Coach Bauerle