Kristen Hayden made history this week by becoming the first Black woman to nab a U.S. national senior title.
Hayden teamed up with Quinn Henninger for a mixed synchronized 3-meter springboard at the USA Diving Winter Nationals. It was the first time they had been paired.
The duo took the lead on their third dive where they racked up 7.0s and 7.5s on the next two dives. They scored an impressive 286.86 points.
“I don’t think words can even describe the feeling,” the New Jersey native said following her historic win. “You read about people like that, you watch Serena Williams, Simone Biles, Simone Manuel, but when it’s yourself, it’s insane. I think the whole diving community is headed in the right direction and I just want to be a good example for young Black Americans or any minority really for diving in the U.S.”
Hayden is a freshman at Henninger after recently transferring from Indiana University and took the lead on their third dive of the competition.
Hayden joins Mike Wright as the only Black divers to win U.S. national titles. Wright won on 1-meter springboard in 2012.
Hayden has made history before.
She is the first Black American diver to earn a bid to the world championships in May in Japan. Before that, she was a team member at the 2016 Junior Worlds.
