Lyle Yost Finishes Fourth to Lead US on Day Two of Pan Ams

SANTIAGO, Chile – Lyle Yost had the highest degree of difficulty in the men’s 1-meter final at the Pan American Games.

The risk has the potential to be rewarding, but it can also be costly. And in Saturday's final, Yost finished fourth with 365.35 points, dropping out of the medal hunt on his last dive. Still, Yost has no regrets about taking the risk.

“I live and die by the list. I love the 1-meter, and I love doing the hard dives. That’s something that’s important to me,” Yost said. “Would I rather have had an easier list today? Absolutely not.”

Yost was in second place through four rounds, highlighted by a 72-point reverse 2 ½ pike, but he had his two most difficult dives yet to go. An inward 2 ½ pike that scored 56.10 points dropped him to third, just 1.65 points out of second.

He then closed out his list with a front 2 ½ with 2 twists, which carries a degree of difficulty of 3.6. Yost scored just 45 points on the dive, dropping him to fourth in the final standings after finishing first in the morning preliminaries.

“It’s these dives that put me in the position to be able to do things like win in the prelim. I was in the position to be able to bring home a medal today. It didn’t work out, but I have faith in those dives and I have faith in my training,” Yost said.

Mexico’s Osmar Olvara won gold with 424.70, and Jonathan Ruvalcaba of the Dominican Republic scored 384.90 for silver. Colombian Luis Felipe Uribe overtook Yost for bronze with 371.20 points.

USA’s Jack Ryan also advanced to the 1-meter final and finished seventh with 339.35 points. Ryan scored 64.50 points or higher on his final three dives to recover from a third-round miss that put him at the bottom of the standings at the halfway point of the competition.