Mark Ruiz (born April 9, 1979 in

Río Piedras, Puerto Rico Río Piedras is a populous district of San Juan, and former town and municipality of Puerto Rico, which was merged with the municipality of San Juan in 1951. The district today is composed of various '' barrios'' (these are the primary legal divi ...

), is an Olympic diver from

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and unincorporated ...

. Ruiz represented the United States in the 2000 Olympic Games and the

2004 Olympic Games The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...

Childhood

Ruiz took up diving at the age of 9. Upon a coach's suggestion, he moved to the U.S. at 12 to take advantage of the better training system. During the spring nationals in 1999, he swept all three events (10-meter platform, 3-meter

springboard A springboard or diving board is used for diving and is a board that is itself a spring, i.e. a linear flex-spring, of the cantilever type. Springboards are commonly fixed by a hinge at one end (so they can be flipped up when not in use), and ...

and the non-Olympic event of 1-meter springboard), becoming the first diver since Greg Louganis in 1988 to accomplish this feat. Ruiz is a graduate of Dr. Phillips High School in Orlando, Florida. He was a member of the swimming and diving team and was the individual state champion for diving all four years he competed.

Competition

Mark's first attempt at the Olympics happened at the 1996 Trials. Ruiz also competes in synchronized diving (springboard and platform), which will have medal events for the first time in Sydney. Ruiz, a four-time national champion in the platform, has already qualified in the platform and 3-meter springboard. He and partner Rio Ramirez finished fourth in the 3-meter springboard at the 2000 World Cup. Mark retired (temporarily) after the 2004 Olympics in Greece.

Career

After his temporary retirement from competition, Ruiz taught diving clinics at the YMCA Aquatic Center. In 2010 Mark's former team, Team Orlando Diving (TOD) affiliated with the YMCA of Central Florida and became YCF Diving. Mark Ruiz was named head coach and continues in this position today.

AchievementsUSA Diving Record
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*2004 Olympic Team *2000 Olympic Team *2000 Olympic Team Trials, platform, 3-meter springboard, 1st *2000 National Indoor Championships, platform, 3-meter springboard, 1st *2000 National Indoor Championships, synchronized, platform, 1st *2000 World Cup, platform, 5th; 3-meter springboard, 7th *1999 Summer National Championships, synchronized, 3-meter springboard, 1st, platform, 2nd *1999 Summer National Championships, platform, 3- and 1-meter springboard, 1st *1999 Pan American Games, 3-meter springboard, 1st, platform, 5th *1999 World Cup, platform, 3rd *1999 Spring National Championships, synchronized, platform, 1st; 3-meter springboard, 3rd *1999 Spring National Championships, platform, 3- and 1-meter springboard, 1st *1998 Summer National Championships, synchronized, platform, 1st *1998 Summer National Championships, platform, 1-meter springboard, 1st; 3-meter springboard, 2nd *1998 Goodwill Games, 3-meter springboard, 10th; platform, 6th *1997 World Cup, platform, 5th

References

External links

Olympic Trial PhotosMark Ruiz Bio - YCF DivingMark Ruiz Diving Camps
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Ruiz, Mark 1979 births Living people Olympic divers of the United States Puerto Rican male swimmers Puerto Rican male divers People from Río Piedras, Puerto Rico Divers at the 2000 Summer Olympics Divers at the 2004 Summer Olympics American male divers Pan American Games gold medalists for Puerto Rico Pan American Games bronze medalists for the United States Pan American Games medalists in diving Dr. Phillips High School alumni Divers at the 2003 Pan American Games Divers at the 1999 Pan American Games Competitors at the 1998 Goodwill Games Medalists at the 1999 Pan American Games