Wilkinson isn't ready to give up diving

2000 medalist returns to compete in Grand Prix

By DAVID BARRON
Copyright 2005 Houston Chronicle

A new wave of divers from The Woodlands — plus one particularly familiar face with an eye on the 2008 Olympics in Beijing — will compete against a field that includes 16 Olympic medalists today through Sunday in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., at the FINA Diving Grand Prix.

The annual event, held the previous two years at the Woodlands Athletic Center, marks the return of 2000 gold medalist Laura Wilkinson to international competition for the first time since she underwent surgery in January to repair her injured right wrist. She will compete in 3-meter springboard synchro with Chelsea Davis of Columbus, Ohio.

The field also includes 2004 gold medalists Li Ting, Hu Jia, Wu Minxia and Guo Jingjing of China and 1996 and 2000 gold medalist Dmitri Sautin of Russia.

It will be Wilkinson's first major post-Olympics appearance, but not her last. She said Wednesday she has committed to remain in the sport through the 2008 Games.

"I have so much left to do in the sport, and I'm not ready to leave it," Wilkinson said. "I think I'm capable of doing more on both boards. I want to see what I'm capable of, and I don't think I'm there yet."

'I'm ready to rumble'

Her coach, Kenny Armstrong, said he was convinced after the 2004 Olympics, where Wilkinson finished fifth on the 10-meter platform, that she would be back for another run.

"She walked up to me after the event and asked me how much time I was going to take off after the Olympics," Armstrong said. "I told her I hadn't even thought about it, and she said, 'I just want to let you know that I'm ready to rumble when you are."'

Wilkinson said her failure to medal in 2004, plus the opportunity to return to springboard for the first time since before a 2000 foot injury, convinced her to stay in the sport.

"The fact that I didn't medal in Athens was fuel," she said. "If I had medaled, maybe I would have retired too early. So it was kind of blessing in disguise. I'm not ready to be done yet."

She will face a different atmosphere in USA Diving over the next four years, however. This week's Grand Prix is the first major international competition in the United States since USA Diving moved its national training center from The Woodlands to Indianapolis. Federation officials cited Houston's unpredictable weather in opting for Indianapolis, which has an indoor diving well, over the outdoor pool at The Woodlands.

Time for a change

In the wake of the 2004 Olympics, where the U.S. team failed to win a diving medal for the first time in a century, federation officials also have changed their selection process for international events, including the 2008 Olympics. Divers will now be selected by a committee rather than determined solely by Olympic trials or other events.

"This is the right road to go," said Ron O'Brien, USA Diving's technical committee director. "Each diver will be asked to prove over and over again how they stack up against competition. We'll also look at the junior divers and give them chances."

Wilkinson said the new selection process "is definitely the way to go. We need to change something, and modeling it after the way gymnastics and the way other countries do it in diving is a good idea."

Current or former members of the Woodlands Diving Team competing in Fort Lauderdale this week are Jessica Livingston, who attends the University of Minnesota, on platform and synchro platform; Nancilea Underwood, a junior at Iowa, in springboard and springboard synchro; and high school students Harrison Jones and Drew Livingston in platform and platform synchro.

J.J. Kinzbach of The Woodlands is an alternate on the 20-member U.S. team, which includes former University of Texas divers and 2004 Olympic team members Troy and Justin Dumais.

Younger divers have been the standouts of the U.S. team thus far. Kinzbach and Matt Bricker of Orlando, Fla., have the best U.S. finish on the Grand Prix circuit, finishing second in men's platform synchro last week in Montreal.

Underwood was third in Zhuhai, China, in women's springboard and with Cassidy Krug in springboard synchro. Livingston and Cassandra Cardinell were fourth in China in platform synchro, and the synchro platform team of Thomas Finchum of Indianapolis and David Boudia of Noblesville, Ind., have three top six finishes.

After the school year, Underwood will train at the Indianapolis training center, which has slots for 10 divers and two coaches, and Livingston will return to Texas to train with Wilkinson on platform and platform synchro.

david.barron@chron.com