With the men’s 3m springboard competition at the U.S. Diving Trials heading into its final round, David Boudia maintains his lead from the preliminaries. If he can secure a spot in the top two, Boudia would be going into his fourth Olympics having already won one gold, one silver, and two bronze medals at his three prior Games.
The athletes completed 12 dives throughout the preliminary and semifinal rounds. Six more dives stand between Boudia and a spot in the Tokyo Olympics. In ranking the athletes, scores are cumulative across all 18 dives in the Trials. Boudia started the semifinal in the lead and managed to maintain it going into the finals.
“One of the most important things in the prelims and semifinals is to stay grounded,” Boudia said in an interview following the semifinal. “I was just trying to … trust and be patient and it turned out consistently.”
Despite his experience in past Olympics, Boudia admitted that it’s still “a rollercoaster ride, any time you’re in a high-pressure situation in athletic sports.” Boudia found that having a lead going into the semifinal made him more anxious.
A key factor in his success comes from balancing his emotions, according to Boudia. “There’s a lot of lies that go in,” he said. “You have to put truth to those lies … Just go in knowing that you’re able to do it one dive at a time.”
While preparing for the finals, Boudia was forced to adapt to Steele Johnson’s withdrawal from the Trials. Johnson, Boudia’s partner in the synchronized springboard event, withdrew from all competition at Trials citing a foot injury.
The final round will determine whether Boudia will represent Team USA in the Tokyo Olympics. Tune in to watch Sunday, 6:35 p.m. ET, on NBC and streaming live at NBCOlympics.com and Peacock.