USA Diving

KUNKEL FINISHES STRONG IN HER FIRST OLYMPICS

August 26, 2004

ATHENS, Greece – Rachelle Kunkel will return to Los Angeles as an Olympian knowing she gave it her all at the Olympic Aquatic Center in Athens.

Kunkel of West Valley City, Utah, who now lives, works and trains in Los Angeles, finished ninth with 546.72 points on 10 dives after entering her first Olympic finals in 11th place.

“I am super happy with the list (of dives) I put together,” Kunkel said. “I felt like I held all my nerves inside and I had a good time. I came out tonight wanting no regrets and I feel like I did that.”

Kunkel had a rough preliminary round finishing 12th with 294.75 points. She performed the same dives Thursday night during the final round scoring 336.96 points well above her previous score of 294.75. The biggest improvement came in round three where she scored 72.00 points on her reverse 2 1⁄2 compared to her preliminary score of 41.40. Unfortunately, her semifinal scores, which are added to the final round to determine the winners, was not high enough to put her in contention for a medal.

China took gold and silver with Guo Jingjing finishing with 633.15 points while teammate Wu Minxia finished second with 612. Russia’s Yulia Pakhalina won the bronze medal with 610.62.

“The girls I was diving with in the finals are the best in the world and it is such an honor to be up there with them and to be competing,” Kunkel said.

Kunkel has been training for three years with coach Honping Li while holding down a full time job at California Hospital in downtown Los Angeles. While working 12-hour shifts three times a week as a nurse in labor and delivery, she was only able to practice twice a week so her coach was very happy with her performance in Athens.

“I am very, very pleased with her performance,” Li said. “She came back strong and did a great job. Overall she performed with great consistency and that is what we are looking for and that is what she did today. Overall she is improving and as her coach that is great to see. Coming into the Olympics our goal was to make the finals and be in the top six. We were unable to finish in the top six but moving up from 11th was very good.”

The U.S. team has two more chances at standing on the medal stand with Caesar Garcia (Baton Rouge, La.) and Kyle Prandi (Strongsville, Ohio) competing in the men’s platform. Preliminary round action begins Friday at 13:30 with the semifinals at 12:00 on Saturday. Finals will be Saturday night at 21:00.

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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

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KUNKEL FINISHES STRONG IN HER FIRST OLYMPICS August 26, 2004 ATHENS, Greece – Rachelle Kunkel will return to Los Angeles as an Olympian knowing she gave it her all at the Olympic Aquatic Center in Athens. Kunkel of West Valley City, Utah, who now lives, works and trains in Los Angeles, finished ninth with 546.72 points on 10 dives after entering her first Olympic finals in 11th place. “I am super happy with the list (of dives) I put together,” Kunkel said. “I felt like I held all my nerves inside and I had a good time. I came out tonight wanting no regrets and I feel like I did that.” Kunkel had a rough preliminary round finishing 12th with 294.75 points. She performed the same dives Thursday night during the final round scoring 336.96 points well above her previous score of 294.75. The biggest improvement came in round three where she scored 72.00 points on her reverse 2 1⁄2 compared to her preliminary score of 41.40. Unfortunately, her semifinal scores, which are added to the final round to determine the winners, was not high enough to put her in contention for a medal. China took gold and silver with Guo Jingjing finishing with 633.15 points while teammate Wu Minxia finished second with 612. Russia’s Yulia Pakhalina won the bronze medal with 610.62. “The girls I was diving with in the finals are the best in the world and it is such an honor to be up there with them and to be competing,” Kunkel said. Kunkel has been training for three years with coach Honping Li while holding down a full time job at California Hospital in downtown Los Angeles. While working 12-hour shifts three times a week as a nurse in labor and delivery, she was only able to practice twice a week so her coach was very happy with her performance in Athens. “I am very, very pleased with her performance,” Li said. “She came back strong and did a great job. Overall she performed with great consistency and that is what we are looking for and that is what she did today. Overall she is improving and as her coach that is great to see. Coming into the Olympics our goal was to make the finals and be in the top six. We were unable to finish in the top six but moving up from 11th was very good.” The U.S. team has two more chances at standing on the medal stand with Caesar Garcia (Baton Rouge, La.) and Kyle Prandi (Strongsville, Ohio) competing in the men’s platform. Preliminary round action begins Friday at 13:30 with the semifinals at 12:00 on Saturday. Finals will be Saturday night at 21:00. --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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