USA Diving

DIVING COMPETITION OUT OF THIS WORLD

August 24, 2004

ATHENS, Greece – The level of competition in diving has gone through the roof in the past four years and that was never more evident than Tuesday night at the Olympic Aquatic Centre in Athens.

Troy Dumais (Ventura, Calif.) turned in a solid performance in the men’s 3-meter springboard finals finishing sixth with 701.46 points (total from five semifinal dives and six final dives). Four years ago no one would have dreamed that a score over 700 would only be sixth.

“It was a tough competition,” Dumais said. “You can’t miss a dive and I don’t feel like I really missed anything. I just didn’t hit a couple dives like I could have but that is diving. Some things don’t come your way each and every day. My hat is off to the medal winners because they did a heck of a job and it was very impressive.”

Dumais had three dives over 80 points but that wasn’t enough to catch Peng Bo of China who won the gold with 787.38 points. Silver went to Alexandre Despatie of Canada with 755.97 and Dmitri Sautin of Russia took the bronze with a total of 753.27 points.

Coach Ken Armstrong (Conroe, Texas) has said numerous times that he compares the jump in the level of diving the past four years like going from high jump to pole vault.

“What an unbelievable and phenomenal contest that was,” Armstrong said. “No one ever thought that 700 was possible and now we have six or seven guys doing it. The level of diving right now is out of this world and it is only going to get higher and better.”

Armstrong was pleased with the outcome of the contest and was just amazed by the tough competition.

“I thought Troy did a great job,” Armstrong said. “He was a little short on his double out but everything else was really solid. You just can’t miss anything anymore and we are not talking easy dives. We are talking the hardest dive in the books. Troy is very talented and one of the best in the world as was evident tonight. If you make it to the finals in this event you have done a great job.”

Dumais plans to return to Austin, Texas, to finish his degree in Exercise Science at the University of Texas and fulfill a promise he made to his mother, Kathleen. He will continue to train under Armstrong at the Centralized Training Center in The Woodlands, Texas, and plans to go for gold in Beijing in 2008.

“My job is not done,” Dumais said. “My goal is to win a gold medal at the Olympics and I will continue to compete until I do.”

The women’s 3-meter springboard competition gets underway Wednesday, Aug. 25 at 1:30 p.m. Rachelle Kunkel (West Valley City, Utah) and Kimiko Soldati (Magnolia, Texas) will represent the United States.

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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
DIVING COMPETITION OUT OF THIS WORLD August 24, 2004 ATHENS, Greece – The level of competition in diving has gone through the roof in the past four years and that was never more evident than Tuesday night at the Olympic Aquatic Centre in Athens. Troy Dumais (Ventura, Calif.) turned in a solid performance in the men’s 3-meter springboard finals finishing sixth with 701.46 points (total from five semifinal dives and six final dives). Four years ago no one would have dreamed that a score over 700 would only be sixth. “It was a tough competition,” Dumais said. “You can’t miss a dive and I don’t feel like I really missed anything. I just didn’t hit a couple dives like I could have but that is diving. Some things don’t come your way each and every day. My hat is off to the medal winners because they did a heck of a job and it was very impressive.” Dumais had three dives over 80 points but that wasn’t enough to catch Peng Bo of China who won the gold with 787.38 points. Silver went to Alexandre Despatie of Canada with 755.97 and Dmitri Sautin of Russia took the bronze with a total of 753.27 points. Coach Ken Armstrong (Conroe, Texas) has said numerous times that he compares the jump in the level of diving the past four years like going from high jump to pole vault. “What an unbelievable and phenomenal contest that was,” Armstrong said. “No one ever thought that 700 was possible and now we have six or seven guys doing it. The level of diving right now is out of this world and it is only going to get higher and better.” Armstrong was pleased with the outcome of the contest and was just amazed by the tough competition. “I thought Troy did a great job,” Armstrong said. “He was a little short on his double out but everything else was really solid. You just can’t miss anything anymore and we are not talking easy dives. We are talking the hardest dive in the books. Troy is very talented and one of the best in the world as was evident tonight. If you make it to the finals in this event you have done a great job.” Dumais plans to return to Austin, Texas, to finish his degree in Exercise Science at the University of Texas and fulfill a promise he made to his mother, Kathleen. He will continue to train under Armstrong at the Centralized Training Center in The Woodlands, Texas, and plans to go for gold in Beijing in 2008. “My job is not done,” Dumais said. “My goal is to win a gold medal at the Olympics and I will continue to compete until I do.” The women’s 3-meter springboard competition gets underway Wednesday, Aug. 25 at 1:30 p.m. Rachelle Kunkel (West Valley City, Utah) and Kimiko Soldati (Magnolia, Texas) will represent the United States. --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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