Mark Ruiz (born April 9, 1979 in

Río Piedras, Puerto Rico Río Piedras () (Spanish language, Spanish for ''stones river'') is a highly urbanized commercial and residential district in San Juan, Puerto Rico, San Juan, the capital Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality of Puerto Rico. Adjacent to th ...

), is an Olympic diver from

Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...

. Ruiz represented the United States in the

2000 Olympic Games 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 ...

and the

2004 Olympic Games The 2004 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad (), and officially branded as Athens 2004 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 13 to 29 August 2004 in Athens, Greece. The Games saw 10,625 athletes ...

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 Orlando ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Orange County, Florida, United States. The city proper had a population of 307,573 at the 2020 census, making it the fourth-most populous city in Florida behind Jacksonville, Florida, Jacksonville ...

. 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 YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organisation based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It has nearly 90,000 staff, some 920,000 volunteers and 12,000 branches w ...

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.

Achievements

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

References

External links

Olympic Trial PhotosMark Ruiz Bio - YCF DivingMark Ruiz Diving Camps
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ruiz, Mark 1979 births Living people Olympic divers for the United States Puerto Rican male swimmers Puerto Rican male divers Sportspeople from Río Piedras, Puerto Rico Divers at the 2000 Summer Olympics Divers at the 2004 Summer Olympics American male divers Competitors at the 1998 Goodwill Games Dr. Phillips High School alumni Divers at the 1999 Pan American Games Divers at the 2003 Pan American Games Medalists at the 1999 Pan American Games Medalists at the 2003 Pan American Games Pan American Games gold medalists in diving Pan American Games gold medalists for Puerto Rico Pan American Games bronze medalists for the United States in diving 21st-century American sportsmen 20th-century American sportsmen