Bruce D. Kimball (born June 11, 1963) is an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

diver and coach. He won a silver medal for the 10 meter platform at the

1984 Summer Olympics The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and commonly known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the ...

Early life and diving career

Kimball was born in

Ann Arbor, Michigan Ann Arbor is a city in Washtenaw County, Michigan, United States, and its county seat. The 2020 United States census, 2020 census recorded its population to be 123,851, making it the List of municipalities in Michigan, fifth-most populous cit ...

. His father is Dick Kimball, who coached nine divers to Olympic medals. His brother is punk rock drummer Jim Kimball. In October 1981, Kimball was struck head-on by a drunken driver. Every bone in his face was fractured, his left leg broken, the ligaments in his knee torn, his liver was lacerated, he had a depressed skull fracture and his spleen had to be removed. When he returned to diving in the summer of 1982, he made the World Championships on platform and earned a bronze medal as well as the nickname "The Comeback Kid." At the 1984 Summer Olympics, he overtook Li Kongzheng with his final dive to win the silver medal, placing behind fellow American

Greg Louganis Gregory Efthimios Louganis (; born January 29, 1960) is an American Olympic Diving (sport), diver who won gold medals at the 1984 Summer Olympics, 1984 and 1988 Summer Olympics on the springboard and platform. He is the only man and the second ...

Vehicular homicide conviction

On August 1, 1988, two weeks before the U.S. Olympic diving trials, Kimball, drunk—with a BAC of .20 (twice the legal limit), he plowed his late model sports car into a crowd of teenagers while driving an estimated , killing two boys and severely injuring four others. Despite the tragedy, Kimball took part in the diving trials, but failed to make the team. He subsequently pleaded guilty to two counts of

vehicular homicide Vehicular homicide is a crime that involves the death of a person other than the driver as a result of either criminally negligent or murderous operation of a motor vehicle. In cases of criminal negligence, the defendant is commonly charged ...

and was sentenced to 17 years in prison, followed by 15 years probation, and his driver license was permanently revoked. He was released from prison on November 24, 1993, after serving less than five years. As a part of his sentence, his driving privileges were “permanently” revoked by Judge Harry Coe, and were reinstated in 2018.

Later life

Kimball is a Kinetic Wellness teacher and diving coach for the swimming and diving teams at

New Trier High School New Trier High School (, also known as New Trier Township High School or NTHS) is a public four-year high school whose main campus for sophomores through seniors is in Winnetka, Illinois, United States, with a campus in Northfield, Illinois, for ...

Winnetka, Illinois Winnetka () is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States, north of downtown Chicago. The population was 12,475 as of the 2020 census. The village is one of the wealthiest places in the United States in terms of household income. It was ...

. As of 2008, he was married and has three children.

References

"Sincerely, Bruce D. Kimball"
''St Petersburg Times'', by Susan Taylor Martin, July 27, 2003.
"Kimball, who killed two teens, can get driver's license again"
CBS Sports Online, December 22, 2004. {{DEFAULTSORT:Kimball, Bruce 1963 births Living people American male divers Sportspeople from Ann Arbor, Michigan Divers at the 1984 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1984 Summer Olympics Olympic silver medalists for the United States in diving World Aquatics Championships medalists in diving Divers at the 1983 Pan American Games Medalists at the 1983 Pan American Games Pan American Games silver medalists for the United States in diving American sportspeople convicted of crimes 20th-century American sportsmen