The number of entries (127 in all) could be the reason the men’s and women’s 3-meter and 10-meter individual categories have been split into 4 rounds (prelim, quarterfinal, semifinal, final). But being Olympic events, whereas the 1-meter is not, the divers should also display a high level of consistency in order to final.
Kelci Bryant recently tweeted from the event: “Won one meter prelims with 292.05 – Finals tonight at 6 p.m.” (@Kelci_Bryant)
According to DiveMeets.com, she averaged 7 1/2 and 8′s on her list: 403B, 105B, 203B, 303B, 5333D.
USA Diving Communications Intern, Kelly Capehart, wrote a great article for USADiving.org about divers’ superstitions and rituals (link). The article includes comments from Olympians Mary Beth Dunnichay, Kelci Bryant, David Boudia, and Thomas Finchum, about their thoughts on rituals and some of the things they do to focus before a meet.
Divers are no exception to the many accounts of superstitions and rituals seen throughout sports, and these rituals vary even among divers. As Kelly reported, “Rituals certainly do vary from diver to diver, wavering between the mundane and the slightly more unusual.” However, she goes on to say that there is a distinction between superstitions and what can be thought of as simply a ritual focusing technique.
In an interview, Olympic coach John Wingfield of the National Training Center in Indianapolis told Kelly that routine can not only help you get into the zone for competition, but it can help to keep you there. You can hear all of Wingfield’s comments on the YouTube video now appearing on the USA Diving YouTube channel. Here is another clip that can be found on the USA Diving channel: it’s Olympian Kelci Bryant talking about her pre-meet rituals.
Of course my favorite parts of the article are the quotes from a former college diver (and current blogger):
Eric Teske, who dove for five years at Miami ( Ohio) University and plans to return to Masters diving, explained that
I am very aware of elephants–they’re so big! Olympic divers Kelci Bryant and Thomas Finchum are aware of elephants too, because they joined in the fun at the Indianapolis Zoo for Elephant Awareness Week. Check out the photo album from USADiving.org.
Although Elephant Awareness Week is over, you can still check out IndyZoo.com for more information on upcoming events. You should also become a fan of USA Diving on Facebook to get the inside scoop on diving.
Four divers will represent the United States at the FINA Diving World Series in Changzhou, China, on March 27-28.
2008 Olympians Kelci Bryant (Chatham, Ill./Indianapolis, Ind.) and Ariel Rittenhouse (Santa Cruz, Calif./Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif.) will compete in women
