David Alasdair Boudia (; born April 24, 1989) is an American diver. He won the

gold medal A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have b ...

in the 10 metre platform diving competition at the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012, were an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

and the

bronze medal A bronze medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of bronze awarded to the third-place finisher of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc. The outright winner receives ...

in the same event at the

2016 Summer Olympics The 2016 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad () and officially branded as Rio 2016, were an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with preliminary events i ...

. He also won a bronze medal with Nick McCrory in the men's synchronized 10 metre platform at the 2012 Summer Olympics and a silver medal in the same event with Steele Johnson at the 2016 Summer Olympics.

Early life

Born in

Abilene, Texas Abilene ( ) is a city in Taylor County, Texas, Taylor and Jones County, Texas, Jones counties, Texas, United States. Its population was 125,182 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is the principal city of the Abilene metropolitan ar ...

, Boudia's parents are Jim and Sheilagh Boudia. He graduated from Noblesville High School in 2007, and attended

Purdue University Purdue University is a Public university#United States, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, United States, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded ...

where he was trained by Head Diving Coach Adam Solati. He resides in

West Lafayette, Indiana West Lafayette ( ) is a city in Wabash and Tippecanoe Townships, Tippecanoe County, Indiana, United States, approximately northwest of the state capital of Indianapolis and southeast of Chicago. West Lafayette is directly across the Wabash ...

.David Boudia
USA Diving. 2015. Retrieved September 13, 2015 He started diving in 2000, and became a member of the U.S. National Diving Team in 2005. Boudia once stated that a dive from the great height of an Olympic 10-meter platform once 'petrified' him.

Diving career

Boudia was named to the 2008 U.S. Olympic team in the 10-meter platform and in the synchronized 10-meter platform event with former synchro partner Thomas Finchum. Boudia and Finchum were 2009 World Championship (Rome) Silver Medalists, and 2007 World Championship (Melbourne) Bronze Medalists. With his past synchro partner, Nick McCrory, they achieved bronze medals at the 2012 Summer Olympics. He is the winner of the Big 10 Male Tower Diving event at the Big Ten Tournament, held in 2010 at Ohio State. He is the inaugural American to break 600 points in six dives.

2012 Summer Olympics

In his first event at the

, Boudia and his partner, Nicholas McCrory, won the bronze in the synchronized 10 metre platform with a combined score of 463.47, finishing behind China (486.78) and Mexico (468.90). The United States did not medal in men's divers at the 1996 Atlanta Summer Olympics; at the next two Olympiads of 2004 and 2008, no men's divers made the podium in diving. In his second event, the 10 metre platform, Boudia barely advanced from the prelims placing eighteenth but then went on to finish third in the semi-finals to advance to the finals. In the sixth and last round, Boudia won gold with a total score of 568.65, finishing ahead of world champion Qiu Bo (566.85) and hometown favorite Tom Daley (556.95). It was the first Olympic gold for the United States in diving since the

2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, officially branded as Sydney 2000, and also known as the Games of the New Millennium, were an international multi-sport event held from 15 September to 1 October ...

, when Laura Wilkinson won the gold in the women's 10-meter platform competition; the first Olympic gold in the 10-meter platform competition by an American male diver since

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 ...

achieved that feat at the

1988 Summer Olympics The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and officially branded as Seoul 1988 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October 1988 in Seoul, South Korea. 159 nations were represe ...

(also taking the 3-meter springboard title); and the first Olympic diving gold for an American man since Mark Lenzi's victory in the 3-meter springboard competition at the

1992 Summer Olympics The 1992 Summer Olympics (, ), officially the Games of the XXV Olympiad (, ) and officially branded as Barcelona '92, were an international multi-sport event held from 25 July to 9 August 1992 in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. Beginning in 1994 ...

2016 Summer Olympics

Boudia partnered with Steele Johnson in the synchronized 10-meter platform dive at the 2016 Olympics in Rio. They won a silver behind the Chinese pair

Chen Aisen Chen Aisen (, born 22 October 1995) is a Chinese Diving (sport), diver. He is a double gold medal winner at the 2016 Summer Olympics. He won gold in the men's synchronised 10m platform competition with diving partner Lin Yue, as well as gold in t ...

and Lin Yue. In the individual 10 metre platform event, Boudia won a bronze. After the Olympics, Boudia took a break in 2017 from international competition before making a decision on whether to retire or return for a fourth Olympics. He chose to return in fall 2017 and go for a fourth Olympics in 2020. However, in February 2018, he suffered a concussion due to an error during training that caused him to crash into the water hard, after which he experienced blackouts and dizziness. Boudia decided to switch event from 10m platform to 3m springboard following the concussion. At the 2019 World Championships held in

Gwangju Gwangju (; ), formerly romanized as Kwangju, is South Korea's list of cities in South Korea, sixth-largest metropolis. It is a designated Special cities of South Korea, metropolitan city under the direct control of the central government's Home ...

, Korea, Boudia participated in the 3m springboard event, but only managed to finish 5th.

Television

In November 2012, Boudia agreed to join Steve Foley as a judge on '' Splash''. This reality show premiered on ABC on March 19, 2013.

Book

Boudia wrote an autobiography, ''Greater Than Gold'', published by Thomas Nelson in 2016.

Personal life

Boudia became a

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

in 2010 through the influence of his college diving coach Adam Soldati. He openly referenced his religious beliefs in several interviews before, during, and after the 2012 Olympics. On October 12, 2012, Boudia married Sonnie Brand, whom he met while studying at Purdue University. In October 2014, Boudia and his wife welcomed their first child, Dakoda. On August 24, 2017, Boudia announced the birth of his second daughter, Mila Primm Boudia. On April 22, 2019, Knox Boudia was born, giving David his first son.

Major competition results

Summer Olympics *3rd 10m Platform 2016 Rio de Janeiro, BRA 525.25 *2nd Synchronised 10m Platform 2016 Rio de Janeiro, BRA 457.11 *1st 10m Platform 2012 London, GBR 568.65 *3rd Synchronized 10m Platform 2012 London *5th Synchronised 10m Platform 2008 Beijing, CHN 440.64 *10th 10m Platform 2008 Beijing, CHN 441.45 World Championships *2nd 10m Platform 2011 Shanghai, CHN 544.25 *2nd Synchronised 10m Platform 2009 Rome, ITA 456.94 *3rd Synchronised 10m Platform 2007 Melbourne, VIC, AUS 463.56 *5th Synchronised 10m Platform 2011 Shanghai, CHN 420.69 *6th 10m Platform 2009 Rome, ITA 491.80 World Series *1st Synchronised 10m Platform 2012 Tijuana, MEX 453.57 *2nd 10m Platform 2012 Tijuana, MEX 543.25 *2nd Synchronised 10m Platform 2012 Moscow, RUS 448.32 *2nd Synchronised 10m Platform 2011 Guanajuato, MEX 437.10 *2nd 10m Platform 2010 Veracruz, MEX 528.00 *3rd 10m Platform 2012 Moscow, RUS 518.40 *3rd 10m Platform 2012 Dubai, UAE 521.60 *3rd 10m Platform 2011 Sheffield, GBR 534.55 *3rd Synchronised 10m Platform 2009 Mexico City, MEX 421.08 World Cup *1st Team Event 2010 Changzhou, CHN 455.35 *4th 10m Platform 2012 London, GBR 501.10 *4th Synchronised 10m Platform 2012 London, GBR 444.93 *4th Synchronised 10m Platform 2010 Changzhou, CHN 448.89 Grand Prix *1st Synchronised 10m Platform 2010 Fort Lauderdale, FL, USA 461.19 *1st Synchronised 10m Platform 2009 Fort Lauderdale, FL, USA 457.26 *3rd Synchronised 10m Platform 2011 Fort Lauderdale, FL, USA 438.51

References

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External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Boudia, David 1989 births Living people Divers at the 2008 Summer Olympics Divers at the 2012 Summer Olympics Divers at the 2016 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists for the United States in diving Olympic silver medalists for the United States in diving Olympic bronze medalists for the United States in diving Sportspeople from Abilene, Texas People from Noblesville, Indiana Sportspeople from Hamilton County, Indiana Purdue Boilermakers men's divers American male divers Sportspeople from Indiana Participants in American reality television series Medalists at the 2012 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2016 Summer Olympics American male non-fiction writers Big Ten Athlete of the Year winners Divers at the 2007 Pan American Games Medalists at the 2007 Pan American Games Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States in diving 21st-century American sportsmen