By BETH HARRIS -- Associated Press
  FEDERAL WAY, Wash. -- Jenny Keim is going back to the Olympics. Michelle Davison earned her first berth the hard way.

  Keim, a 22-year-old from Miami, won the trials with 860.31 points Wednesday night. Davison, of Columbia, S.C., took the other spot with 844.59 points.

  In the men's 3-meter semifinals, David Pichler of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., was first and Troy Dumais of Ventura, Calif., was second.

  Keim is hoping to improve on her ninth-place finish in the 1996 Olympics.

  "I'm hoping that this will turn out a little better," she said. "I didn't compete quite as well as I wanted to. All in all, I think this will be a much better experience."

  Michelle Rojohn of Fort Lauderdale, who was competing in her first trials, missed the second spot by 4.56 points. She finished third with 840.03 points.

  Davison, 20, achieved the goal of making the Olympics she first had as a 6-year-old.

  "I remember watching Greg (Louganis) in 1988," said Davison, whose lip quivered as tears rolled down her cheeks. "I always wanted to go, now I'm going."

  Keim and Davison were 1-2 after the semifinals a day earlier and they stayed that way throughout the five-dive final at King County Aquatic Center.

  Diving with her sore right triceps taped, Keim never lost her lead while saving her toughest dives -- both with a 3.0 difficulty degree -- for her final two.

  Her marks for both were well off the 8.5s to 9.0s she earned for her first three dives, but she had a big enough lead to hold off Davison.

  Keim climbed out of the pool, checked the scoreboard, then raised her arms in the air and smiled at the outcome.

  Davison, who was fifth on springboard in the '96 trials, pressured Keim and Rojohn by going for three dives that each had a 3.0 difficulty degree. Davison earned higher marks for those three than Keim did for hers that were worth 3.0.

  "I like doing the harder dives," she said.

  None of the other 10 finalists, including Rojohn, had a dive worth 3.0 on their list.

  "I'm a little bit upset," said Rojohn, who turns 27 Thursday. "I'm happy with the way I dove. A year ago I wasn't diving with this consistency. I'm very happy with my performance. You can only take care of yourself. The other dove better."

  Sara Reiling of St. Paul, Minn., finished fourth with 792.60 points after moving up from seventh. Sunday Lewandowski of Mount Lebanon, Pa., was fifth with 790.89.

  Dumais, denied an Olympic platform diving berth in 1996 by Pichler, barely trailed his rival on springboard after the semifinals.

  Pichler, who finished last in springboard qualifying four years ago, led 12 divers advancing to Thursday night's finals with 682.86 points. Dumais was second with 681.66.

  Mark Ruiz of Orlando, Fla., the heavy favorite to qualify on both springboard and platform, moved from seventh to fifth. He had struggled in the morning preliminaries when he hit the board with his toes.

  "I'm very pleased with my performance," Ruiz said. "I know I have a chance to make it. I feel very good."

  Dumais was third behind Pichler and Kevin McMahon of Fremont, Neb., going into his final dive. But he moved up with a pike inward 11/2 somersault that earned him marks ranging from 9.0 to 9.5 from seven judges.

  "This is going to be the best all-around competition we've had in a long, long time. Everybody is stepping up and pushing each other," said Dumais, whose brother, Justin, also made the finals. "When I'm behind I push myself a little more. It's like I get more of a rush, more adrenaline."

  As a 16-year-old, Dumais finished 39 points behind Pichler in the '96 trials. Only the top two finishers earn Olympic spots.

  "It's not comforting when someone gains 40 points on you," Pichler said of Dumais. "I expected him to gain a lot of ground, but not as much as he did."

  McMahon, second going into the five-dive semifinal, dropped to third on his last dive, a forward 11/2 somersault with a twist that earned mostly 8.0s.

  That opened the door for Dumais to move up after coming into the semifinals in fifth place. He earned two 10s on his second dive, the same one that cost McMahon second place.

  McMahon had 673.32 points, while P.J. Bogart of Mesa, Ariz., was fourth with 667.20 points and Ruiz totaled 663.72.

  Rio Ramirez of Miami, a Cuban defector awaiting permission from his native country to compete for the United States if he qualifies for the Sydney Games, was ninth, 55 points behind Pichler.

  "I'm just thinking about my diving," Ramirez said. "I just want to do a good performance there and please myself, my coach and the people who came to watch. I know what's going on, but I can't think about it."