I used to love to go swimming. Throughout my childhood, when we went on family vacations my favorite moments were always "at the pooh"! My mother wasn't much of a swimmer (I struggled with "dog paddle") so I wasn't allowed to do much swimming in the deep end but I always wished that I could. Not being a particularly graceful youngster, the only diving that I ever attempted was the "cannonball". I splashed everyone nearby every time!
This weekend, I reminisced about those times in the water with my family while watching the U.S. Olympic men's diving trials in Federal Way, Washington. It was amazing to watch the young divers, who also appear to be highly trained gymnasts, perform the various dives in hopes of moving on to compete in this summer's Olympic games in London.
David Boudia will compete in two events in London. He totaled 1,642.40 points over the six-round final to win the 10-meter platform title, easily defeating platform synchro partner Nick McCrory, who finished second with 1,582.55 points. The two had already made the team for the London Games by winning the platform synchro event earlier in the eight-day meet. Thomas Finchum, a 2008 Olympian, finished third with 1,463.20 points. Unfortunately for Finchum, only the top two individuals go to London.
"Nick and I battling back and forth, we just fed off one another. That's what we want to see going into London. It just raised my level of competition." – David Boudia
Boudia, McCrory and Finchum were, consistently, the top scorers in the twelve-man final. Besides being the most experienced divers, they also performed dives with the highest degree of difficulty. All three divers earned perfect marks of 10.0 among their scores over the final three rounds.
We won't be seeing these divers performing "cannonballs" in London this summer but I'm certain that children around the world will be enjoying poolside time with their families, splashing and laughing and smiling and making memories. Maybe one day they'll become Olympians, too. You've got to start somewhere!
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