USA Diving announced the members of the 2008 U.S. Olympic Diving Team that will compete in August in Beijing. The team includes only two holdovers from the Athens Olympics, the first Olympic Games in history in which the United States failed to win a diving medal.
The U.S. will have maximum participation at the Olympic Games, having earned two individual spots per event, and qualifying in all of four synchronized diving events. This will be the first time since 1996, and the first time since the addition of synchronized diving, that the U.S. will send a full complement of divers.
The team will be led by two veterans, Troy Dumais and Laura Wilkinson, each of whom will be in their third Olympic Games. Dumais failed to medal in 2000 and 2004, finishing in sixth on springboard in both Games. In a departure from his two earlier Olympic appearances, he will compete in only the springboard competition in Beijing, opting not to attempt to qualify in synchro. Wilkinson was a gold medalist on platform in 2000, the only medal won by the U.S. that year, but finished fifth in 2004. She was a fourth place finisher on platform at the 2007 World Championships. At the age of 30, she will be the oldest diver in the American delegation.
Divers were chosen using a two-step process that involved an Olympic trials competition, and an Olympic Selection Camp. The winner of the four individual events at the Olympic trials received an Olympic berth,and the top six divers from each of the events at the trials were invited to compete for the second spot in the individual events. The top three synchro teams in the nation also competed for a spot on the team at the camp.
Four divers will compete in multiple events: Chris Colwill (springboard, synchro springboard) Haley Ishimatsu (platform, synchro platform), Thomas Finchum (platform, synchro platform), and David Boudia (platform, synchro platform).
Finchum and Boudia look to be the best hope for a U.S. medal in synchro platform, having medaled in 14 international competetions over the past two years, including a bronze at the 2007 World Championships.
Diving at the Beijing Olympics will begin on August 10 with the women's synchronized springboard, and will culminate on August 23 with the men's platform.
2008 U.S. Olympic Diving Team
- Women's Three-meter Springboard
- Christina Loukas (Riverside, Ill.)
- Nancilea Foster (Spring, Texas)
- Men's Three-meter Springboard
- Troy Dumais (Ventura, Calif.)
- Chris Colwill (Brandon, Fla.)
- Women's 10-meter Platform
- Laura Wilkinson (Spring, Texas)
- Haley Ishimatsu (Seal Beach, Calif.)
- Men's 10-meter Platform
- David Boudia (Noblesville, Ind.)
- Thomas Finchum (Indianapolis, Ind.)
- Women's Synchronized Three-meter Springboard
- Kelci Bryant (Chatham, Ill.)
- Ariel Rittenhouse (Santa Crux, Calif.)
- Men's Synchronized Three-meter Springboard
- Chris Colwill (Brandon, Fla.)
- Jevon Tarantino (Boca Raton, Calif.)
- Womens Synchronized 10-meter Platform
- Haley Ishimatsu (Seal Beach, Calif.)
- Mary Beth Dunnichay (Elwood, Ind.)
- Mens Synchronized 10-meter Platform
- David Boudia (Noblesville, Ind.)
- Thomas Finchum (Indianapolis, Ind.)
Coaching Staff: Head Coach – John Wingfield (Fishers, Ind.); Assistant Coach – Wenbo Chen (Carmel, Ind.); Additional Coaches: Ken Armstrong (The Woodlands, Texas), Dan Laak (Watkinsville, Ga.), Jeff Huber (Bloomington, Ind.), Matt Scoggin (Austin, Texas), Dave Burgering (Boca Raton, Fla.); Team Leader – Bob Rydze (Iowa City, Iowa)
