The Road to Beijing:
In any other Olympic year, Thomas’ second place finish on platform in the 2004 Olympic Diving Trials would have put the then 14-year-old on the team. With the changes in the selection procedures for that year, he was left home. A big disappointment then, but a motivational factor that has prompted him to go on to prove what a mistake it was - Pan Am gold, world cup silver, world championship bronze, and USA Diving’s 2007 Athlete of the Year to be exact.
Thomas' Talent:
A different diver will show up for the games than the one who competed in the 2004 trials. Having grown about ten inches and now standing 6–1, Thomas has experienced a number of nagging injuries and “growing pains” that one would expect from an 18-year-old. Despite these minor hiccups, in the past four years he has progressed from a phenom with a great rip, to a consistent international diver. He competes with a big list of dives and has a chance to medal any meet in which he competes.
What to Look For:
Thomas’ individual platform success has taken a bit of back seat over the past year to his synchro partner David Boudia. That is not to say that he won’t have a chance at an individual medal, but his biggest successes over the past two years have come in synchronized platform. Finchum and Boudia have 14 international synchro medals over the past two years, including a bronze at the 2007 World Championships. Look for these two to be in the hunt in synchro.
Thomas' Stats:
At 6-1 and 150 lbs., Thomas is not the lithe little boy he was in 2004, and it shows by the jump in the degree of difficulty of his dives. He may have lost a little bit of his rip, but there’s still more than enough there to make him a contender both individually and in synchro. He has a compelling drive to succeed that has made him a tireless worker. He gave Boudia a run for his money at the Olympic trials and definitely will not back down in Beijing.
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