Cynthia Ann Potter (born August 27, 1950) is an American former Olympic diver and diving

color commentator A color commentator or expert commentator is a sports commentator who assists the main (play-by-play) commentator, typically by filling in when play is not in progress. The person may also be referred to as a summariser (outside North America) ...

. She was a member of three Olympic diving teams, winning a bronze medal in the 3 m springboard in 1976.

Career

Diving

An 11-time All-American, Potter won a record 28 national diving championships. She was the U.S. outdoor champion in the 1-meter springboard from 1968 through 1977. Potter was the 3-meter springboard champion in 1971 and 1972 and from 1975 through 1977; and took first in the platform competition in 1970 and 1971. Indoors, she won 1-meter springboard titles from 1969 through 1973 and in 1976 and 1977, the 3-meter in 1969, 1970, and 1973. Additionally, Potter was chosen as World Diver of the year in springboard competition in 1970, 1971 and 1972. Potter was a member of the 1968, 1972 and 1976 U.S. Olympic diving teams. She was selected to the 1980 U.S. Olympic diving team, but due to the U.S. boycott of the games that year, Potter was unable to compete. She was one of 461 athletes to receive a

Congressional Gold Medal The Congressional Gold Medal is the oldest and highest civilian award in the United States, alongside the Presidential Medal of Freedom. It is bestowed by vote of the United States Congress, signed into law by the president. The Gold Medal exp ...

instead. In 1972, she placed seventh on the 3-meter springboard and 21st in the 10-meter platform partially due to a foot injury, and in 1976 Potter claimed a bronze medal in the 3-meter springboard. In other international competition, Potter won a gold in the 3-meter springboard and a silver in the 10-meter platform at the 1970 World University Games, a bronze in the 3-meter springboard at the 1975

Pan American Games The Pan American Games, known as the Pan Am Games, is a continental multi-sport event in the Americas. It features thousands of athletes participating in competitions to win different summer sports. It is held among athletes from nations of th ...

, and a silver in the 3-meter springboard at the 1978 World Championships. In 1987, Potter was inducted into the

International Swimming Hall of Fame The International Swimming Hall of Fame and Museum (ISHOF) is a history museum and hall of fame, located at One Hall of Fame Drive, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, United States, operated by private interests and serving as the central point for the stu ...

Television

Potter provided the color commentary for

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...

for

diving at the 1984 Summer Olympics At the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, four diving events (2 for men and 2 for women) were contested during a competition that took place at the Olympic Swim Stadium of the University of Southern California (USC), from 5 to 12 August, com ...

. In the late 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s, she served as color commentator for televised U.S. and international diving competitions, primarily for

NBC Sports NBC Sports is an American programming division for NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, that is responsible for sports broadcasts on their broadcast network NBC, the Cable television, cable channels NBC owns, and on Peacock (streaming service) ...

. Potter continues to provide color commentary for its Olympic diving coverage and served as an analyst for its diving coverage for the next eight Olympics, including

diving at the 2008 Summer Olympics Diving competitions at the Beijing 2008 Summer Olympics were held from August 10 to August 23, at the Beijing National Aquatics Centre. Competition format The following events were contested by both men and women in Beijing: *3m Springboard ...

diving at the 2012 Summer Olympics The diving competitions at the 2012 Olympic Games in London took place from 29 July to 11 August at the Aquatics Centre within the Olympic Park.

, 2016 Rio, 2020 Tokyo Olympics, and the 2024 Paris.

Personal life

Potter graduated from

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a state university system, system of Public university, public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. The system has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration o ...

in 1973 with a degree in secondary education, and also received a graduate degree from the

University of Arizona The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it ...

in teaching and teacher education. She married businessman Jim McIngvale in 1975. Their marriage lasted three years before McIngvale filed for divorce, citing "conflict of personalities". She later remarried to TV producer Peter Lasser in 1996. Since retiring from diving, she served as diving coach at

The Westminster Schools The Westminster Schools is a Kindergarten–12 private school in Atlanta, Georgia, United States, founded in 1951. History Westminster originated in 1951 as a reorganization of Atlanta's North Avenue Presbyterian School (NAPS), a girls' school ...

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

until 2020, and has served as a diving coach at

Southern Methodist University Southern Methodist University (SMU) is a Private university, private research university in Dallas, Texas, United States, with a satellite campus in Taos County, New Mexico. SMU was founded on April 17, 1911, by the Methodist Episcopal Church, ...

, and the

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Potter, Cynthia 1950 births Living people American color commentators American female divers American television personalities American women academics College diving coaches in the United States Congressional Gold Medal recipients Divers at the 1968 Summer Olympics Divers at the 1972 Summer Olympics Divers at the 1975 Pan American Games Divers at the 1976 Summer Olympics FISU World University Games gold medalists for the United States Indiana Hoosiers women's divers Medalists at the 1970 Summer Universiade Medalists at the 1975 Pan American Games Medalists at the 1976 Summer Olympics Olympic bronze medalists for the United States in diving Pan American Games bronze medalists for the United States in diving Sportspeople from Atlanta Sportspeople from Houston Southern Methodist University faculty Summer World University Games medalists in diving Television personalities from Arizona Television personalities from Atlanta Television personalities from Texas University of Arizona alumni University of Arizona faculty World Aquatics Championships medalists in diving Olympic Games broadcasters 20th-century American sportswomen

Career

Diving

Television

Personal life

See also

References