USA Diving

A BROTHER'S LOVE IS PRICELESS

August 16, 2004

ATHENS, Greece (Aug. 16, 2004) – A brother’s love is like no other and that was proof Monday night at the Olympic Aquatic Centre.

Heading into the fifth and final round dive the Dumais brothers from Ventura, Calif., were second after jumping from seventh with an 89.76 point dive in Rd. 4, their highest scored dive of the evening. The Chinese duo of Bo Peng and Kenan Wang, a favored team, missed their final round dive and received no points, which dropped them to eighth. The Cuban team then had trouble on their dive as did the team from Russia, which went just prior to the U.S. team. The Dumais brothers needed to score higher than the Greek team to win. Unfortunately they were unable to capitalize on the opportunity and ended up placing sixth with a total score of 327.06 points on five dives.

“After our fourth round dive I was just thinking that anything was possible and that I was going to enjoy this moment with my brother,” Troy said. “I missed my last dive but those things happen. I have another event in the individual (3-meter) and I am going to hold my head high and get ready for that.”

The crowd erupted when the scoreboard showed that in fact the team of Nikolaos Siranidis and Thomas Bimis from the host country had won the gold medal with a total score of 353.34. For the team from Greece, this in fact might be the greatest moment of the games for them.

“We have to give it to Greece,” Troy said. “They did a heck of a job and performed the best tonight. Three out of the eight teams completely missed their final round dives with us being one of them. Whoever does their job and performs is going to be on the medal stand.”

For Justin this was his only night of competition but he will leave Greece with no regrets.

“I am just glad that I had the opportunity to be here and compete with my brother and not too many people can say that,” Justin said. “We might not ever have this opportunity again. I feel closer to Troy right now than I ever have and to me family is everything. No one is going to remember who won the medal tomorrow but I am going to have my brother forever.”

Troy will return to competition in a week, on Aug. 23, when he and Justin Wilcox (Spring, Texas) go for the gold in men’s 3-meter.

It was a tough night in the women’s synchronized platform with Cassandra Cardinell (Loudonville, N.Y.) and Sara Hildebrand (St. Paul, Minn.) finishing seventh with a total score of 302.22. Despite missing their first round dive receiving only 31.80 points they didn’t give up.

“We did a great job out there and we did what we could with the situation we were put in after the first round dive,” Hildebrand said. “We stayed together the entire time through the meet. Our timing was right on which was a big goal of ours and we put it all out there.”

For Hildebrand this was her first of two events. She will compete again on Friday, Aug. 20 in the women’s 10-meter platform with reigning gold medallist Laura Wilkinson of Spring, Texas.

Cardinell will leave Athens with the experience of competing in the Olympics and look for better things in 2008.

“It has been great,” Cardinell said. “One of my main goals was to just go out there and have fun and I did that. I might not have performed my best in the end but I have some great memories and the experience is priceless. I now realize the potential of what could be and it makes me more determined.
Next up will be 2000 Olympic gold medallist Laura Wilkinson (Spring, Texas) looking to defend her title along with teammate Sara Hildebrand (St. Paul, Minn.) in the women’s 10-meter platform. The preliminary round gets underway on Friday, Aug. 20 at 12:30 p.m.

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USA Diving is the national governing body for the sport of diving. Headquartered in Indianapolis, USA Diving offers diversified programs geared toward the broadest number of diving enthusiasts, from the novice to the world champion. USA Diving conducts approximately 40 regional and national events annually, sanctions hundreds of events managed by its 350 member clubs and is responsible for training and selecting teams that represent the United States at international events such as the Olympic Games, World Championships and Pan American Games.

- USAD –

For additional information, please contact Ann Bleiker, diving press officer, at ann.bleiker@usoc.org or 011-30-636-677-2093. Information can also be found at www.usadiving.org, www.usolympicteam.com or www.nbcolympics.com.

USA Diving

United States Diving, Inc. 201 S. Capitol Ave., Ste. 430, Indianapolis, IN 46225 317.237.5252 \| 317.237.5257 FAX
A BROTHER'S LOVE IS PRICELESS August 16, 2004 ATHENS, Greece (Aug. 16, 2004) – A brother’s love is like no other and that was proof Monday night at the Olympic Aquatic Centre. Heading into the fifth and final round dive the Dumais brothers from Ventura, Calif., were second after jumping from seventh with an 89.76 point dive in Rd. 4, their highest scored dive of the evening. The Chinese duo of Bo Peng and Kenan Wang, a favored team, missed their final round dive and received no points, which dropped them to eighth. The Cuban team then had trouble on their dive as did the team from Russia, which went just prior to the U.S. team. The Dumais brothers needed to score higher than the Greek team to win. Unfortunately they were unable to capitalize on the opportunity and ended up placing sixth with a total score of 327.06 points on five dives. “After our fourth round dive I was just thinking that anything was possible and that I was going to enjoy this moment with my brother,” Troy said. “I missed my last dive but those things happen. I have another event in the individual (3-meter) and I am going to hold my head high and get ready for that.” The crowd erupted when the scoreboard showed that in fact the team of Nikolaos Siranidis and Thomas Bimis from the host country had won the gold medal with a total score of 353.34. For the team from Greece, this in fact might be the greatest moment of the games for them. “We have to give it to Greece,” Troy said. “They did a heck of a job and performed the best tonight. Three out of the eight teams completely missed their final round dives with us being one of them. Whoever does their job and performs is going to be on the medal stand.” For Justin this was his only night of competition but he will leave Greece with no regrets. “I am just glad that I had the opportunity to be here and compete with my brother and not too many people can say that,” Justin said. “We might not ever have this opportunity again. I feel closer to Troy right now than I ever have and to me family is everything. No one is going to remember who won the medal tomorrow but I am going to have my brother forever.” Troy will return to competition in a week, on Aug. 23, when he and Justin Wilcox (Spring, Texas) go for the gold in men’s 3-meter. It was a tough night in the women’s synchronized platform with Cassandra Cardinell (Loudonville, N.Y.) and Sara Hildebrand (St. Paul, Minn.) finishing seventh with a total score of 302.22. Despite missing their first round dive receiving only 31.80 points they didn’t give up. “We did a great job out there and we did what we could with the situation we were put in after the first round dive,” Hildebrand said. “We stayed together the entire time through the meet. Our timing was right on which was a big goal of ours and we put it all out there.” For Hildebrand this was her first of two events. She will compete again on Friday, Aug. 20 in the women’s 10-meter platform with reigning gold medallist Laura Wilkinson of Spring, Texas. Cardinell will leave Athens with the experience of competing in the Olympics and look for better things in 2008. “It has been great,” Cardinell said. “One of my main goals was to just go out there and have fun and I did that. I might not have performed my best in the end but I have some great memories and the experience is priceless. I now realize the potential of what could be and it makes me more determined. Next up will be 2000 Olympic gold medallist Laura Wilkinson (Spring, Texas) looking to defend her title along with teammate Sara Hildebrand (St. Paul, Minn.) in the women’s 10-meter platform. The preliminary round gets underway on Friday, Aug. 20 at 12:30 p.m. --30-- USA Diving is the national governing body for the sport of diving. Headquartered in Indianapolis, USA Diving offers diversified programs geared toward the broadest number of diving enthusiasts, from the novice to the world champion. USA Diving conducts approximately 40 regional and national events annually, sanctions hundreds of events managed by its 350 member clubs and is responsible for training and selecting teams that represent the United States at international events such as the Olympic Games, World Championships and Pan American Games. - USAD – For additional information, please contact Ann Bleiker, diving press officer, at ann.bleiker@usoc.org or 011-30-636-677-2093. Information can also be found at www.usadiving.org, www.usolympicteam.com or www.nbcolympics.com. .
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