SHORELINE, Wash. — The diving world championships wrapped up Sunday in Doha, Qatar. Shoreline's Katrina Young didn't have her best showing, but she is still in the hunt to earn a spot on the US Olympic team.
Young, a Shorecrest High alum, is currently one of the best divers in the country. In 2022, Young won a silver at the world championships and she's already competed in the Rio and Toyko Olympics. But right now, she's setting her sights on the Paris Olympics.
"I knew from a young age, really from the time I can remember that I wanted to be a musician," Young said. "I started piano lessons young. I think it's just like a release for me. It's therapy for me, it's really like just what I think I'm supposed to do in this life. I'm supposed to be singing and sharing my voice and I love it."
Young has the voice of an angel and she dreams of someday taking her music to the top of the charts. Right now, she's focused on standing on the top of the podium.
"I mean, if you do the dive right, it feels magical," Young said. "It feels like you're just like flying through the air like you're an arrow, just having the wind whip past your face. You kind of feel like supernatural in the moment."
The three-time national champ is training to make her third Olympic team.
"I think I have unfinished business really," Young said. "I believe that I can be on the podium at the Olympics. That's something I've struggled with in the past, getting to the Olympic stage and dealing with the pressure. It's hard for me to really believe in myself in that moment and I want to prove to myself that I can nail that."
Since the Toyko games, Young married her soulmate Mike. She moved to southern California to train at USC.
Balance on the platform and in life is important for Young. She's always had rhythm, now she's found the harmony.
"The biggest thing that I take out of sport is believing in yourself and living from your heart," Young said.
Young competed in the individual 10-meter in Rio and Tokyo. Now she's trying to qualify in synchronized diving, a challenge that has double the difficulty of perfecting. Synchro or solo, Young knows the journey to Paris won't be easy.
"Every time is a huge challenge, and you turn it over, so it never gets easier," Young said. "It would definitely mean the world. To be honest. I think it would be really special. I think that this one gets a little bit different for some reason. I think that I've kind of found myself a little bit more and I would love to go out there and really put my heart on my sleeve more than I've ever done before at the Paris games."
She dives to her own beat, and while music brings her joy, representing the United States gives Young pride.
"I mean, it's an honor to represent the US," Young said. "My Grandpa is a veteran. So, it's really important for me to represent my country with pride and I feel really grateful that I have the opportunity that I've been given all have these gifts, these talents, and the ability to grow and expand them through my family and through all of the freedoms that we have in the US. So yeah, I feel like it's an honor every time I'm on the stage diving for the US."