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Dumais Leads, Colwill Second At Diving Trials

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The Associated Press

Published: June 21, 2008

INDIANAPOLIS - Troy Dumais appears headed for his third Olympics. Mark Ruiz will likely have to settle for two.

Dumais, who declared his goal for Beijing was "gold or go home," put on a dominating display in the semifinals of the 3-meter springboard at the U.S. Olympic diving trials Friday night.

Already spotted a 30-point lead because of his international success, Dumais scored perfect 10s on three of his six dives to build a commanding advantage with 1038.30 points.

Brandon native Chris Colwill was second at 961.00, with his partner in synchronized competitions, Jevon Tarantino, third at 893.65.

Ruiz, a 20-time national champion who retired after the 2004 Olympics, returned to the board nine months ago with the improbable goal of winning the medal that eluded him on two previous trips to the Summer Games.

He was a respectable sixth in the afternoon preliminaries, but plunged all the way to 11th when a rusty, sloppy performance left him at 742.80, ahead of only one other diver heading to today's final.

"The water is still coming out of the pool," Ruiz quipped.

Dumais led the prelims with 502.75, though Colwill - who has only 40 percent of his hearing - actually outscored him on the first six dives.

The leader started with 30 bonus points as a reward for his fourth-place finish at the World Cup in Beijing.

"I'd rather not have it or be in the hole," Dumais said. "You tend to sit back and relax. I don't like that."

As if out to show he didn't need the additional points, Dumais blew away the field in the evening. He picked up two 10s on his second dive, two more on his next attempt and another on his final rip through the water - a reverse 2 1/2 somersault with a 1 1/2 twist in the pike position.

Dumais' last dive, with a tough 3.5 degree of difficulty, just missed the magic century mark. But the 99.75 total was the highest of the night.

The 28-year-old native of Ventura, Calif., finished sixth on springboard at the last two Olympics. He's got bigger goals than just making it to Beijing.

"If I can't make it to the Olympics, then I can't win gold," Dumais said. "So it's gold or go home for me."

With a string of perfect 10s, Laura Wilkinson, who won gold on the 10-meter platform at the 2000 Olympics, showed she's still the boss of the tower, holding off a challenger half her age in the semifinals Friday night.

The 30-year-old Texan received at least one 10 on three of her five dives and finished with 813.20 points. She had a comfortable advantage against 15-year-old Haley Ishimatsu, who finished with four 10s and the highest-scoring dive of the night but was still only second at 757.55.

Wilkinson can lock up her third trip to the Olympics in the finals Sunday.

Only the winner in each event earns a trip to Beijing, with the other spots on the U.S. team to be determined at a selection camp in Tennessee next month.

The trials will weigh heavily in the selection process.

No Surprise: Johnson, Liukin 1-2 In Gymnastics

PHILADELPHIA - Start looking for the passports and the big suitcases, Shawn Johnson and Nastia Liukin have their trips to the Beijing Olympics all but locked up.

The best Americans showed why they're also the best in the world Friday night, all but sealing spots on a team that will be favored to win the gold medal in Beijing. Johnson edged Liukin again, just as she did at the national championships two weeks ago, but the margin is so small, it could be erased with a stuck landing from one or a bobble by the other.

Johnson finished with 64 points and Liukin was right behind at 63.5. The finals are Sunday, with the top two earning spots on the Beijing squad. But, barring injury, there's little doubt of who that will be.

The remaining four spots, along with three alternates, will be chosen after a July 20 selection camp.

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