James A. Finley, Associated Press Kimiko Soldati won the women's 3-meter springboard diving competition at the U.S. Olympic trials in St. Peters, Mo. Click photo for larger image.

Cassidy Krug had no realistic expectation that she would dive in Athens this summer, but she did want to show that she could compete with those who will.

Krug, a Montour High School graduate and freshman at Stanford University, achieved that much by finishing eighth in the women's 3-meter springboard final yesterday at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials in St. Peters, Mo. Her score of 743.82 was well behind those of Kimiko Soldati (884.70) and Rachelle Kunkel (874.38), the two who gained Olympic team berths, but her appearance in the final and respectable placement in an overall field of 21 seemed more important to her when it was done.

"It's the most fun I've ever had at a meet," Krug said by telephone. "I wasn't expecting to qualify for this event, so I loved every minute of it. Usually, I get really nervous before meets. Here, it wasn't like that because I knew there was no pressure on me."

Krug had narrowly qualified for the trials, finishing seventh at the American Cup in Minneapolis two months ago when only the top eight would advance. Her margin was comparably narrow in reaching the final round of trials. She finished 10th in the preliminaries Tuesday with only the top 12 advancing.

The trials represented by far the most prominent meet of Krug's fledgling career -- she never has represented the United States at any level -- and she expressed satisfaction with her showing.

"Within my own standard, I thought I did pretty well," she said. "There are always things you can do better, though."

Next for Krug, a three-time PIAA champion at Montour, is a bid to qualify for the Speedo National Diving Championships July 20-25 in Mission Viejo, Calif.

In other news

Ivan Lee of the U.S. won bronze in men's saber after losing to Stanislav Podzniakov, 15-9, in a semifinal at the New York Grand Prix of fencing. Podzniakov, a two-time individual Olympic medalist, beat fellow Russian Serguei Charikov, 15-12, to win gold. Hungarian Balasz Lengyel, who lost to Charikov in the other semifinal, also won bronze. Lee's teammate on the U.S. Olympic team, Keeth Smart, finished 25th after losing in the round of 32 to Podzniakov. Jason Rogers, the third U.S. Olympian in saber, finished 26th and Benjamin Igoe was 31st for the United States. Olympic alternate Tim Morehouse was 50th.