Laura Wilkinson
The last time I mentioned
Laura Wilkinson’s Gold Medal performance was in an argument with U.S. Diving
and the direction they were going. I wanted to write something positive about
Laura after her performance at the recent Olympic Trials. Some may wonder what
negative I said about her in the past.
During the last Olympic
Games Laura was in fourth place until one round where the three ahead of her
blew a dive, and all in the same round. I mentioned in that argument that the
only reason she won that contest was the blown dives by her competitors. Up to
that point they were almost 30 points ahead of Laura. I guess I made my point
against U.S. Diving but I didn’t give Laura enough credit for that winning
effort. She had some physical problems around that time and the pressure to
perform well was huge. Laura didn’t fold and made history as a result.
At this year’s trials it was
noticeable that Laura had beefed up her list substantially from 4 years ago.
Other than one dive she performed extremely well. In fact her score of 10’s on
a Reverse 3 ½ somersault was not only spectacular but far superior to the one
Gregg Louganis did during his last Olympic Gold Medal appearance.
If Laura is able to hit all
of her dives in Beijing, there is no question in my mind she will win her
second consecutive gold medal. I want to wish her well and hope she succeeds in
that journey. You go girl!