{"id":249884,"date":"2026-04-28T17:13:08","date_gmt":"2026-04-28T17:13:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/249884\/"},"modified":"2026-04-28T17:13:08","modified_gmt":"2026-04-28T17:13:08","slug":"team-usa-divers-deliver-world-class-performances-at-american-cup-in-fort-lauderdale","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/249884\/","title":{"rendered":"Team USA Divers Deliver World-Class Performances at American Cup in Fort Lauderdale"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\t\t2026 American Cup<\/p>\n

All photos courtesy of SRX Media Group and USA Diving<\/p>\n

While the spotlight focuses on Fort Lauderdale this week for what promises to be a star-studded showcase of top swimming talent, the world\u2019s most elite divers have already delivered a premier event above the water, at the same venue.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The 2026 American Cup attracted a world-class field of divers from Australia, Canada, Colombia, Croatia, Ecuador, Egypt, France, Great Britain, Haiti, Ireland, Japan, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, South Korea, Switzerland, Ukraine, in a spectacular four-day format that featured high diving alongside traditional diving events.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Red, White, Blue\u2026 and Gold: Team USA Highlights<\/p>\n

From start to finish, Team USA showcased its depth and strength across diving disciplines and events, capturing the opening and closing gold medals, along with others in between.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Sophie Verzyl<\/a>, 23, was among the brightest stars for Team USA, entering three events and coming away with three gold medals. She topped the podium in the women\u2019s 3-meter, in the synchronized 3-meter alongside teammate Anna Kwong<\/a>, and in the mixed 3-meter and 10-meter team event, along with Josh Hedberg<\/a>, Sophie McAfee<\/a>, and Jack Ryan<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Verzyl competed collegiately for the University of South Carolina, where she recently represented the Gamecocks at the NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships. Kwong, also 23, had a successful collegiate diving career at TCU.<\/p>\n

\"\"\"\"<\/p>\n

Sophie Verzyl<\/a> won 3 gold medals for Team USA.<\/p>\n

Team USA swept both the men\u2019s and women\u2019s High Diving titles, claiming gold in each. Reigning World Champion James Lichtenstein<\/a>, age 31, soared to the top of the men\u2019s field, notably receiving scores of 9\u2019s and 10\u2019s on his second dive of the competition.<\/p>\n

Lisa Faulkner, 37, who lives and trains in South Florida, topped the women\u2019s high diving field. A member of the Fort Lauderdale Diving Team, Faulkner is coached by former World Champion Steven LoBue<\/a>. Earlier in her career, she enjoyed a successful diving tenure at University of Kentucky.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"\"\"<\/p>\n

Lisa Faulkner, Women\u2019s High Diving Champion<\/p>\n

Rounding out Team USA\u2019s Gold Medal Performances, Jack Ryan<\/a> and Quinn Henninger<\/a> won the gold medal in men\u2019s synchronized 3-meter, and Josh Hedberg<\/a> won the men\u2019s 10-meter contest<\/p>\n

\"\"\"\"<\/p>\n

Jack Ryan<\/a> and Quinn Henninger<\/a>, men\u2019s synchronized 3-meter champions<\/p>\n

\"\"\"\"<\/p>\n

Josh Hedberg<\/a>, men\u2019s 10-meter champion<\/p>\n

Competing in her first senior international meet, 16-year-old Evelyn Wang of Team USA qualified for the Women\u2019s 10m finals, marking an impressive debut at this level.<\/p>\n

\"\"\"\"<\/p>\n

Evelyn Wang, 16, made her senior international debut.<\/p>\n

\"\"\"\"<\/p>\n

Team USA divers at the Fort Lauderdale Aquatic Complex for the American Cup<\/p>\n

Fort Lauderdale\u2019s Summer of Diving Soars On!<\/p>\n

Missed the American Cup event? Don\u2019t worry, you\u2019ll have more chances to catch world-class diving in Fort Lauderdale this summer, including the World Aquatics High Diving World Cup and the World Aquatics Junior High Diving Championships, from May 15-17, as well as the AAU National Diving Championship from July 14-24.<\/p>\n

Flipping Back to Swimming: This Week\u2019s Forecast is Sunny with 100% Chance of Fast Times!<\/p>\n

The much-anticipated Speedo Fort Lauderdale Open will take place April 29 \u2013 May 2, 2026, at the Fort Lauderdale Aquatic Complex, featuring an all-star lineup of swimmers, including\u00a0Katharine Berkoff,\u00a0Shane Casas<\/a>,\u00a0Kate Douglass<\/a>,\u00a0Caeleb Dressel<\/a>,\u00a0Bobby Finke<\/a>,\u00a0Carson Foster<\/a>,\u00a0Chris Guiliano<\/a>,\u00a0Thomas Heilman<\/a>,\u00a0Luke Hobson<\/a>,\u00a0Katie Ledecky<\/a>,\u00a0Simone Manuel<\/a>, Leon Marchand<\/a>, Summer McIntosh<\/a>, Regan Smith<\/a>, Alex Walsh<\/a>, and Gretchen Walsh<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Top college and club teams from across the country will also compete, including the University of Florida, University of Texas, University of Virginia, Auburn University, NC State, Ohio State, and more.\u00a0<\/p>\n

You can purchase tickets to the Speedo Fort Lauderdale Open here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"2026 American Cup All photos courtesy of SRX Media Group and USA Diving While the spotlight focuses on…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":249885,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[48340,109406,68034,107970,108552,108553,109407,249,251,250,65594,109408,68389,109409,107971,109410,65595,99889,108574,109411,108583,109412,108586,109413,109414,109415,99890,108588],"class_list":["post-249884","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-fort-lauderdale","tag-alex-walsh","tag-anna-kwong","tag-bobby-finke","tag-caeleb-dressel","tag-carson-foster","tag-chris-guiliano","tag-evelyn-wang","tag-fort-lauderdale","tag-fort-lauderdale-headlines","tag-fort-lauderdale-news","tag-gretchen-walsh","tag-jack-ryan","tag-james-lichtenstein","tag-josh-hedberg","tag-kate-douglass","tag-katherine-berkoff","tag-katie-ledecky","tag-leon-marchand","tag-luke-hobson","tag-quinn-henninger","tag-regan-smith","tag-shane-casas","tag-simone-manuel","tag-sophie-mcafee","tag-sophie-verzyl","tag-steven-lobue","tag-summer-mcintosh","tag-thomas-heilman"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/249884","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=249884"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/249884\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/249885"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=249884"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=249884"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=249884"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}