The Year in Diving

The last U.S. diver to win an Olympic medal was Laura Wilkinson in 2000. That was 12 years ago and to say that the pressure was on for this team was, well, a bit of an understatement. But the 2012 Olympic team delivered in a big way with 4 four medals (actually 7!), and that included a dramatic win by David Boudia in the final diving event of the Games. You could not have scripted it any better!

• 2012 Olympic Diving Central

The 2012 Junior World Championships saw the emergence of a new star in the world of women’s diving in Gracia Leydon-Mahoney. She was definitely the shining star for the U.S. in Adelaide, Australia, as she continued a trend of world championships for the U.S. The newly crowned world champion on 3-meter not only won her first junior world championships medal, she also won her first senior national title at the AT&T National Diving Championships, also on 3-meter.

The diving world lost one its most polarizing, and successful divers as Mark Lenzi passed away at the age of 43. Lenzi was a two-time Olympian, and a two-time medalist. He captured gold on springboard at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, and then a bronze four years later in Atlanta. The former wrestler turned diver was a protege of Hobie Billingsley and an NCAA champion at Indiana.

Diving seems to be always "included" with other aquatic sports, and has never really stood out on its own, especially in the realm of recognition. That is until now. In 2012 USA Diving created an new honor society, known as the USA Diving Rings of Honor. This new entity according to USA Diving, strives "to celebrate our stellar history and honor those who have achieved excellence and contributed to the success and notoriety of the sport of diving." The inaugural inductees included Sammy Lee, Greg Louganis, Pat McCormick, Hobie Billingsley, Lyle Draves and Jan Rude.

A little bit of everything here to cover all the bases: diving equipment, diving technique, facilities and coaching tips.

• Seven Simple Coaching Tips
• What is a Bubbler
• Seven Important Aspects of Using a Bubbler
• Angular Momentum in Diving
• Split Tuck in Diving
• Six Important Aspects of High School Diving
• Duraflex and Durafirm Equipment Broken Down
• Concussions and Diving
• Ten Reasons for Dryland Training
• Diving Competitions - Who, What, Where, When
• Why did I get a Fail Dive?
• FINA Specs and New Boards

Most of the diving news in 2012 was dominated by the Olympic Games, but there were a few other interesting developments.

• Not to be left out of the reality show bonanza, both ABC and FOX will produce a diving reality show. Can't wait to see a good smack!
• Human Energy Films is producing a documentary that will follow several divers as they prepared for the 2012 Olympic Trials.

Six different divers won NCAA titles in 2012, quite a difference from the recent past, where the likes of David Boudia, Chris Colwill and Kelci Bryant were dominant figures. There were a repeat winners though, as Drew Livingston and Chen Ni each won the second NCAA title of their career.

• 2012 NCAA Swimming and Diving Championship Results and Awards
• Best Conference for Diving in 2012
• Best Collegiate Diving Program in 2012
• 2012 NCAA Swimming and Diving Collegiate Conference Championships

Two national high school champions were crowned in 2012, but they weren't new! Both were repeats - one from 2011 and one from 2010.

• The Elite Eight from 2012!
• 2012 Boy's High School All Americans
• Boy's High School National Champion - Zhipeng Zeng
• 2012 Girl's High School All Americans
• Girl's High School National Champion - Kassidy Cook

The Olympics was not the only event that took place during 2012!

• 2012 U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Diving
• Photos from the Olympic Trials - Springboard, Platform and Synchro.
• 2012 FINA World Cup
• 2012 FINA Junior World Championships