Sophomore Michael Hixon will join Parratto and Cozad, making it a total of three athletes competing for team USA. IU diving coach Drew Johansen traveled to Puerto Rico with the three Hoosiers.
“USA Championships went well,” Johansen said. “It was certainly a hard-fought competition. We’re excited to go up against international competitors to measure up and see where we are. This will prepare us for July.”
The World Championships is a three-day competition in Kazan, Russia. Parratto and Cozad will be competing in the synchronized platform competition for the United States.
They finished with a score of 612.3 last weekend. This will be Parratto and Hixon’s first time competing in the FINA World Championships, but Cozad represented the U.S. in the synchronized platform event during the 2011-12 season and is back for a second time.
Hixon will compete in the 1-meter dive for team USA. Hixon was named the NCAA diver of the year last season and walked away with NCAA titles in the 1-meter and 3-meter dives as a freshman.
He also made the first team All-Big Ten team for his diving performances this year.
“They are going to be pretty excited,” Johansen said. “This will be their first international meet to see how the other international athletes train and will be able to get a taste of the ?competition.”
Frank Bonner
