With less than a month to go before the start of 2012's Games of the XXX Olympiad in London, England, U.S. divers are looking to improve upon their disappointing performance in Beijing during the 2008 Olympics. After returning home from China without a single medal, the team heads to the Olympic Park Aquatics Centre hungry for redemption. Led by four-time Olympian Troy Dumais, the U.S. men's team also includes Beijing veterans Chris Colwill and David Boudia, plus newcomers Kristian Ipsen and Nick McCrory.
Boudia will dive in two events in London, the 10-meter individual platform, as well as 10m synchronized platform teamed with McCrory.
Read on for a closer look at the man hoping to earn Olympic gold and add his name to the long list of accomplished U.S. Olympic divers.
Full Name: David Alasdair Boudia
Date of Birth: April 24, 1989 (23 years old)
Stats: 5'9", 160 lbs.
Family: Father - Jim, mother - Sheilagh, sisters - Shaila, Shauni
Significant Other: Sonnie Brand (fiancé)
Birthplace: Abilene, Texas
Currently Resides: Noblesville, Indiana/West Lafayette, Indiana (when at Purdue)
School: Purdue University - Class of 2013
College Major: Communications
Olympic Experience: 2008 Beijing, China (no medals), qualified for 2012 London Games
Coaches: John Wingfield, Adam Soldati (current)
Training: Four to 5 hours daily
Diving Club: Boiler Diving Academy
National Team Member Since: 2005
Post-Olympic Plans: Getting married, finish college (Boudia will be a senior in the fall, but has exhausted his eligibility to dive), skydiving, possible career in marketing or a return for the 2016 Olympics
Social Media:
* Twitter - @davidboudia
Favorite Music: (Boudia listed these in a post-Olympic Trials chat with "The Seattle Times"): rap (currently Trip Lee), country, and dub step
Favorite Superhero: Batman
Likes: Video games, cars, music, football, anything involving competition
Pet Peeve: People scraping forks on their teeth while eating
Interesting facts: Boudia is a devout Christian and lists his family as important influences; he started out as a gymnast after watching the "Magnificent Seven" U.S. women's gymnastics team perform in 1996 (switched to diving in 2000); had a terrible fear of heights when he first started on the platform; would choose to play soccer if he wasn't a diver
Favorite Place Abroad: Australia
Pet: Dog named Sascha
Favorite Athlete: Michael Jordan
Competition Notes: Favorite dives are 207B and 5255B; 16-time national champion; had highest degree of difficulty in the men's platform finals at the Beijing Olympics; USA Diving Athlete of the Year three different times; first U.S. diver to score over 600 points in the 10m event under current scoring format; named 2011 Big Ten Athlete of the Year for all sports; took silver at the 2011 FINA World Championships on 10m individual platform, making him the first U.S. man to medal in the event at this competition in 25 years; NCAA champion six different times; broke American record for most points on a single dive.
Additional Sources:
Other content by this contributor:
Breakdown of 2012 Summer Olympics Diving Events
London Summer Olympics Diving: Ten Things to Know
London 2012 Summer Olympics Swimming: Michael Phelps and His Incredible Diet
The author has been a fan of the unique spectacle that only the Olympics can provide since watching the incredible U.S.A Olympic Team perform in Los Angeles in 1984.
