Michael Holman Finneran (born September 21, 1948) is an American former diver. In 1971 he won the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

outdoor and AAU indoor titles and a gold medal at the Pan American Games, all in the 3 m springboard. Next year he won the AAU outdoor springboard title. At the

1972 Summer Olympics The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad () and officially branded as Munich 1972 (; ), were an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from 26 August to 11 September 1972. It was the ...

, he placed 5th in the

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 9th in the 10 m platform.

Biography

In 1971 Finneran graduated in business administration from the

Ohio State University The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one ...

. He later coached both men's and women's teams at the

University of South Carolina The University of South Carolina (USC, SC, or Carolina) is a Public university, public research university in Columbia, South Carolina, United States. Founded in 1801 as South Carolina College, It is the flagship of the University of South Car ...

in 1981–85, and at the

University of Alabama The University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama, UA, the Capstone, or Bama) is a Public university, public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, United States. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of ...

in 1985–88, and prepared the national diving team for the

1986 Goodwill Games The 1986 Goodwill Games was the inaugural edition of the international multi-sport event created by Ted Turner, which was held from 5 – 20 July 1986. The main stadium was the Luzhniki Stadium, Central Lenin Stadium in Moscow, Russian SFSR, Sov ...

. He later coached at

Enloe High School William G. Enloe GT/IB Magnet Center for the Humanities, Sciences and the Arts, also known as Enloe Magnet High School or Enloe High School, is a public magnet high school offering Gifted & Talented and International Baccalaureate programs lo ...

(1997–2000) and at

North Carolina State University North Carolina State University (NC State, North Carolina State, NC State University, or NCSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Raleigh, North Carolina, United States. Founded in 1887 and p ...

. His sister Sharon Finneran is an Olympic swimmer, and her daughter

Ariel Rittenhouse Ariel Rittenhouse (born December 9, 1990) is an American diving athlete. Rittenhouse won a silver medal at the 2007 Pan American Games in Rio de Janeiro. At the 2008 Summer Olympics, Rittenhouse placed 4th in the synchronized springboard. Her m ...

is an Olympic diver.

References

1948 births Living people Olympic divers for the United States Divers at the 1972 Summer Olympics Sportspeople from Rockville Centre, New York Sportspeople from New York (state) American male divers Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States in diving Divers at the 1971 Pan American Games Medalists at the 1971 Pan American Games 20th-century American sportsmen {{US-acrobatics-diving-bio-stub